Temptation
by Spiritstrike
Summary: Armada: Affairs would've been a lot easier if Carlos hadn't decided to enter Red Alert's Med-Bay and cause a mayhem. Naturally, one disaster leads to another, and Hot Shot pays the price for it. OPxHS. ON HITAUS.
1. An Accident Occurs

**Spiritimus Prime: Hehehehehe! I felt like uploading this story for the heck of it becuase of screwing up a story that is related to this whole ordeal. What was meant to be a slash pairing becomes a possible mechxfemme pairing. This whole thing was Red Alert's fault because he was the one who wanted to become the top prankster (sniggers) Oh man, I feel so sorry for Hot Shot who gets the gender bender! HAHAHAHA! Enjoy this funny moment before things become worse, and not in a funny way. XD**

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Chapter 1:

**An Accident Occurs**

Red Alert sighed as he tinkered around with a machine that he'd been working on for almost two weeks. A slight grin emitted on his silver lips as he thought of what of the results the machine would give off when he was done. By his calculations, it should be done by next week, and he didn't want anyone, except Optimus Prime, to know what he was up to with this machine, but first, he needed to get the Autobot Commander's approval before he could begin his attempt. He tightened up a bolt with his wrench and he sighed once again. He needed a break badly, and he realised that his Energon reserves were pretty low.

Standing up, the CMO turned towards a table and picked up an Energon cube. Putting his lips to it, he sipped it carefully before putting it back down and taking a deep breath as his reserves went up half way. Tilting his head to the right with a sharp jerk, Red Alert felt his circuitry crack. Humans may crack their bones from time to time, but Transformers can crack their insides whenever they wanted to, or if their joints were a little stiff. It felt good and he sat down on a chair to take his break.

After several minutes of sitting on his chair, Red Alert heard the door hiss open, and he heard the familiar footsteps of his commander as he looked up to see Optimus Prime looking towards the machine, and then back at him, his golden optics seemed to frown a little before he shook his head. "Going into a prank war with Jetfire, aren't you?" he asked, hiding the humour in his voice.

"Yes, and this time, I'll be the one to come out on top as the top prankster," Red Alert replied with a chuckle and Optimus Prime shook his head once again. "But it needs just a little more work and everything will be ready by next week."

"For the ultimate prank you mean?" Optimus asked with a slight smirk under his mask.

"You got it, and Jetfire will bound to submit to defeat."

"So, exactly what does this machine do?"

"Can't tell you, you'll have to wait for it, but I will tell you one thing it can do, it will do a bit of a gender change." Red Alert then winked under his red visor.

"Gender change huh? I would love to see the look on Jetfire's face. How long will the effect last?" Optimus asked, tilting his head to the side

"It will stay there forever until I decide when I can turn him back. If he does not submit, I'll leave it there until he, as the humans say, cries uncle or mercy." Red Alert's smile grew bigger as Optimus Prime nodded.

"I'll approve of this machine, Red Alert, just make sure that you clean up after yourself, I don't want the base to become a prank battlefield."

"You got it, sir," said Red Alert as he saluted.

Optimus Prime nodded once more before he turned and walked out the room, leaving Red Alert alone for a moment until the CMO stood up. "Yeah, I could really use a break, maybe a little recharge would help as well," he said to himself as he turned and walked out the Med-Bay.

* * *

"Carlos, get back here!"

Hot Shot chased after Carlos, who was riding on Sureshock at top speed and laughing as the yellow Autobot raced after his friend. Hot Shot could feel his circuits overheating and his Spark pounding furiously against his chest plate as he leaned against a wall and took deep breaths to ease himself up. How many times has he chased Carlos like this before, especially when it involved a game of Hide-and-Seek Tag? It was annoying, but fun nonetheless, for it helped to improve the young Autobot's speed in chasing down targets in robot mode, and even Scavenger would have to agree. But as far as Hot Shot was concerned, he really didn't like where this game was going because Carlos was heading right towards the Med-Bay to hide in and he knew that the CMO was working on something that should never be looked at until it was ready.

When Hot Shot got his breath back, he charged after Carlos again just to stop him from entering the Med-Bay. If the boy disturbed anything that Red Alert was working on, then there was going to be dozens of punishments that the medic would inflict upon him, and Hot Shot did not want to get on the bad side of his friend and he knew that Red Alert would not rest until he'd uncovered the culprit and the mystery to his work's destruction.

"Oh no," Hot Shot mumbled as Carlos and Sureshock zoomed into the Med-Bay. He felt his Spark stop for a second and he just hoped, for Carlos' sake, that Red Alert's work would not be noticeable. But boy was he ever going to be wrong.

As Hot Shot carefully peeked into the Med-Bay, he looked around to see if he could spot Carlos and Sureshock hidden amongst the machines and tools that would cause him to overlook them and miss the sight. The metal in the room seemed to shine as he looked around, darting his baby blue optics left and right as he tried to detect Carlos' body heat. But since there was a little heat being given off by some of the machines, it was a little difficult to tell exactly where he was.

Hot Shot bit his bottom lip as he shook his head. Wherever the project, which Red Alert was working on, was, he had a feeling that it might be one of the machines. But the more he stood around looking for Carlos, the more curious Hot Shot become of wanting to know what the project might be capable of. Suddenly his optics darted onto a machine that he'd never even seen before.

Curiosity got the best of Hot Shot and he took a step closer towards the machine. It was about the length of Optimus' arm in super mode, and it had a ring around its neck that was supported by four spikes that ran from the inside of the ring and onto the neck of the odd machine. It had four stands on the outside to support its unlikely weight and it had several buttons, including a lever, which ran down its sides. Was this the project that Red Alert was working on? Whatever it was, it sure seemed frightening to look at, and Hot Shot didn't dare to approach it… that is… until he saw Carlos and Sureshock looking up at the machine with curiosity.

"Carlos, get away from that!" Hot Shot cried in warning.

Carlos and Sureshock looked up in surprise as Hot Shot gave a worried look and he took a step back away from the machine, including Sureshock, and he lowered his head, ashamed about what he'd almost done. "I'm sorry, Hot Shot," he mumbled.

Hot Shot breathed a sigh of relief and he eased his tensed up muscle cables. "Its okay, Carlos, we shouldn't even be in here anyway. That machine could be the project that Red Alert is working on and I don't want to get into trouble just by messing with it. He'd have my head if he found out that I accidentally trashed it up," he explained as he lowered his head and smile a little.

"Exactly what is the machine's purpose? What's it going to do?" Carlos asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm not sure, but the only thing I can guess is that Red Alert intends to use this as a prank on Jetfire. How I figured that out is pretty simple. Both Jetfire and Red Alert were the best pranksters back on Cybertron, but Jetfire became the top one, so now he and Red Alert are wrestling for the title of 'The Ultimate Prankster'," Hot Shot replied.

"Alright, I won't touch it," said Carlos, not wanting to cause a disaster for the CMO that was trying so hard to obtain the title. "But I'm still wondering what it would do."

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see when Red Alert tells us. He likes to keep things a secret sometimes and it gets annoying after while, especially when he speaks with long words I hardly understand."

"Oh yeah, I remember him doing that to me." Carlos could still remember when Red Alert acted like a real tough guy on their first mission, and it had nearly been a disaster, especially when they argued on one occasion about taking the wrong turn and ending up lost.

Hot Shot chuckled when Carlos told him about the situation. "Always will be a tough guy."

"Still it bothers me on some degree," Carlos groaned and he folded his arms across his chest and leaned his back against the wall, but he failed to notice that he'd leaned on the lever and a loud whirling sound started up, causing Carlos and Sureshock to jump in surprise and turn to face the machine as it lit up like a Christmas Tree. "Oh no!" he cried.

Hot Shot's optics widened in shock and horror as the machine began to spark dangerously. He rushed towards Carlos and Sureshock and he grabbed them gently in both of his hands and took a few steps away from the machine before he curled up into a ball, hoping to shield Carlos and Sureshock from the machine as it buzzed and continued to explode as smoke escaped from within.

It was that moment when Red Alert walked into the room and he saw Hot Shot curled up on the floor and the explosion about to take place. Hot Shot lifted his head and shouted to his friend: "Get out of here, it's about to..." but he didn't get to finish his sentence, as the next thing Hot Shot knew, he was caked in white light and then a loud boom followed in suit. The last thing he heard was Red Alert shouting his name, the sounds of pounding feet on the floor, and gasps of shock before he went offline.

* * *

When Hot Shot turned his optics back online, he realised that he was lying on his back on a bed. His whole body ached that threatened to overwhelm him like an icy knife cutting through his Spark. And yet, he felt completely odd, like as if his body was no longer his own, but a complete stranger to him. Shaking his head slightly, Hot Shot felt a wave of discomfort in his neck and he felt a headache develop. He growled, but his voice came out a little hoarse and weak.

"How are you doing, Hot Shot?" a gentle, but familiar, voice asked not from afar but was still out of Hot Shot's line of vision.

Turning his head towards the voice, Hot Shot could just make out the blurred colours of red, blue, silver and yellow, and he knew that Optimus Prime was looking down at him with concern and a deep sense of worry. He wanted to tell him that he was alright, but he knew that he couldn't lie to his commander, but because his voice was too sore to say anything, he could only shake his head slowly, causing the discomfort in his neck to become worse.

Optimus' optics seemed to soften a little, but he kept up his concerned look.

"How long was I out, are Carlos and Sureshock alright, and what about Red Alert?" Hot Shot asked weakly. His vocal processor ached and he winced from the slight pain in his throat. Optimus noticed this and he shook his head, indicating that he didn't want Hot Shot to speak until his voice cleared up.

"They're fine, Hot Shot," the Autobot Commander said as he turned his attention to something else for a while before returning his optics back to Hot Shot. "You've been offline for three days. Carlos and Sureshock are in your debt for shielding them from the light and explosion, though Red Alert is angry that his project is destroyed, Carlos explained to him about what had occurred before he walked into the room. But, Red Alert is not angry at Carlos, Sureshock, and yourself, but he is angry that he cannot... undo your... accident until the machine is, either, repaired, or rebuilt."

Confused, Hot Shot lifted an optic ridge in puzzlement. Optimus Prime was about to say more when Red Alert walked into the Med-Bay. He looked towards his commander, and then back Hot Shot before he spoke. "I suppose you were about to tell him about what the machine did to him, or should I?" he asked, obviously trying to hide his annoyance.

"No, I will be the one to tell him of this 'incident'. Although he may not like what he's about to hear, I suggest that we try and make this as less overwhelming for him as possible, otherwise he might do the unthinkable, and that is something I do not wish to see, or hear from any of my men," said Optimus, frowning as Red Alert nodded and bowed his head to indicate that he will not interfere unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Tell me what?" Hot Shot asked, his voice straining less but still hurting.

"Hot Shot, I don't want you to fret or anything like that, and I must break it to you as slowly as I possibly can so that you don't become clouded by your fear. What I'm about to tell you, you must swear that you will not scream or try and not do anything foolish. Clear?"

"I'll try not to, but the more you keep me waiting, the more difficult it will be for you to be the bearer of bad news. So spit it out already, otherwise I might lose myself in boredom," Hot Shot lightly joked, still trying to keep his voice steady.

Optimus Prime sighed and nodded, but then shook his head once more. "Perhaps it would be best if seeing yourself would provide you with the explanation I'm about to give you."

Hot Shot nodded once, nearly forgetting about the discomfort in his neck.

"Red Alert, see if you can bring in a mirror," Optimus requested.

Red Alert nodded before he turned and left the room, leaving Optimus Prime and Hot Shot alone for a moment until the CMO returned with a hand held mirror in his hand. Hot Shot wondered where Red Alert had gotten that from, but he decided to not ask about it. As Red Alert approached, he came to Hot Shot's right and held the mirror to him as Optimus Prime helped him sit up, making Hot Shot wince when he guessed that the light and explosion from the machine had done some damage to his back. Some debris must've cut into his armoured back while he'd been shielding Carlos and Sureshock or something like that.

Seeing his wince, Optimus eased the sitting up until it became as slow as a tortoise (which Hot Shot was grateful for), making it as gentle as his touch. When he was fully sitting up, Hot Shot carefully reached out for the mirror, but Red Alert held it out of his reach for a moment, his red visor showing his seriousness. "Are you sure you want to do this, Hot Shot? Because you might live to regret ever staring at a mirror like this again," he warned.

Hot Shot growled. "Just give me the damn mirror, Red Alert!" he barked, making his throat hurt so much that he felt tears pouring from his optics in pain. Red Alert winced from Hot Shot's growl and he sighed before handing him the mirror. Hot Shot nearly snatched the mirror from Red Alert's hand and he looked down at it, studying whatever features that had gotten both Optimus Prime and Red Alert so concerned about.

Or should I say: she?

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Spiritimus Prime: OH NO!! THE GENDER CHANGE!! THE HUMILIATION!! (runs for her life after getting things thrown at by Hot Shot)


	2. Adjusting to One's Self

**Spiritimus Prime: Oh this is gonna hurt overtime! Red Alert's gonna get the beating of his life, and Jetfire gets one as well. Hey, don't look at me like that! Just read to find out before girly Hot Shot bashes you up! Btw, there's a picture of Hot Shot that looks like the one in my story. But it was the picture that inspired me to turn Hot Shot into a femme, so you'll get the point on what 'she'll' look like, and even Starscream's in the picture too, but he doesn't get the same treatment as Hot Shot does. Just copy and paste the link. XD**

**peanutchan./art/Starscream-and-Hotshot-35100355**

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Chapter 2:

**Adjusting to One's Self**

Optimus Prime held his hands up in a calm way in case Hot Shot prepared to scream, but she didn't. All she did was just sit there gaping at her reflection as if she was some kind of monster that came out of the blue. Red Alert just kept silent, not saying a word at all, knowing fully well that Hot Shot would come up with a smart retort to him. Hot Shot continued to stare at herself, she didn't freak out for no more than a few seconds until she looked up and glared at Red Alert. That familiar glare stared right into his visor and Red Alert knew exactly what it meant: _I'm going to kill you!_

Optimus noticed the glare and he knew that Hot Shot had every right to be angry. It had been Red Alert's idea to design the machine just for some silly prank war on Jetfire, and now that the machine was ruined, it could take months to rebuild and get Hot Shot back to normal. The silence continued to hang in the air and Hot Shot finally broke it by swinging a fist and punching Red Alert in the right cheek, shocking Optimus as the CMO stumbled.

"That's for building that fucking thing in the first place!" Hot Shot managed to say before a slight cough escaped her throat and she shook her head to try and clear herself, but only succeeded in making the cough worse. Optimus was at her side and gently patted her back before she managed to regain herself and looked away, her cheeks turning pale red.

Optimus turned to Red Alert and helped him regain his equilibrium and they looked at each other for a moment. "Red Alert, due to this incident, I will forbid you to make anymore prank machines. If this happens again, consider yourself in for the worst punishment of your life. But as for punishment right now, you will rebuild the machine," he said in an emotionless tone.

"Easier said than done, Optimus," said Red Alert as he brushed himself off. "I need some parts from Cybertron because of most of them getting destroyed in the explosion. It could take months to get the parts I need and even weeks to get the machine up and running perfectly if we're going to make Hot Shot normal again."

Optimus' hands clenched into fists as rage pulsed through his systems. "I don't care how long it takes, Red Alert, just do what you can. Am I understood?" he growled. Normally Optimus was not one to lose his temper because of being so calm during harsh situations, but when he did lose it, many regretted the day that they ever faced his anger in the first place.

Red Alert nodded. "Yes sir. Crystal clear," he said as he looked at Hot Shot, who was busy looking at her hands and growling as she looked at some of her new body parts. _Please don't let him peek into that area, _Red Alert thought as he bit his bottom lip.

When Hot Shot didn't, the CMO breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what can I do now?" she asked, looking at Optimus Prime and Red Alert.

"Carry on like nothing has ever happened," Optimus answered immediately, catching Hot Shot completely off guard.

"But what if the others ask exactly how I got like this?" the mech-turned-femme asked in a startled voice. Her throat still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as it previously was when she first woke up like this.

"Just tell them the truth, if they laugh at you, which I'm positive that they won't, then let me know and I'll knock some sense into them. If the alarm goes off, just ignore it. Now go and get some rest, you've had quite an unusual day," Optimus said with a kind chuckle.

Hot Shot nodded and she carefully slid off the bed, the older mechs watching her carefully in case she could not support herself, but she managed to regain her balance in an instant and walked out the Med-Bay, Optimus' golden optics following her every move, including watching her muscle cables ripple like water underneath her armour. She seemed so graceful and…

_Where did that come from? _Optimus thought to himself and mentally punched himself in the head. That was so odd that he thought his head had nearly spun a hundred miles an hour. Shaking off the thoughts, Optimus nodded towards Red Alert to get to work and he walked out the Med-Bay, his head still spinning with those unusual thoughts of Hot Shot's new form.

* * *

Hot Shot found herself not heading for her quarters, and she was shocked to find that she was standing in front of the Rec. Room. It was so unusual that she could've sworn that she was being stared at from behind the door. Shaking her head, Hot Shot opened the door and saw that the kids were sitting on the floor playing a card game while their Minicons, Sureshock, Highwire, and Grindor, were mucking around with a Playstation. Hot Shot couldn't help but snigger, and this caught the attention of the kids and Minicons.

They looked up and nearly gasped in shock and surprise. Carlos stood up and rubbed the back of his neck as he approached the mech-turned-femme. The silence between them seemed to last for hours until Carlos lowered his head and whispered, "Sorry amigos."

Hot Shot smiled softly and she gently picked Carlos up and placed him on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Carlos. Accidents occur and I believe I gave Red Alert a piece of my mind for designing that thing in the first place. Hopefully he won't make the same mistake twice," she said and gently tickled Carlos' chest with a finger, earning a giggle from the boy.

Rad an Alexis approached as well as Hot Shot placed Carlos back down on the floor and stayed kneeled. "You're… you're a girl?" Alexis asked in confusion, but Hot Shot lifted a hand to silence her completely.

"Just don't say it in front of the others. Even the slightest mention of this incident from anyone freaks me out… mentally really," Hot Shot said quietly, making Alexis nod in understanding. Hot Shot smiled again and stood back up to her full height when she heard some footsteps approaching from behind. She gave the kids a playful glare. "Whatever you do, don't say a word," she mumbled.

The kids nodded and placed a finger over their lips as Blurr and Sideswipe came walking into the room. The two stopped and their optics widened at the sight of Hot Shot. Sideswipe lifted a finger and pointed right at the mech-turned-femme. "Hot Shot…" he stuttered. "Is that you?"

Hot Shot leaned on a wall with her arms folded across her chest, a snigger escaping her lips. "Who else were you expecting, Sideswipe? The Easter Bunny?" she asked mockingly.

Blurr, still staring bug-opticed, lowered Sideswipe's arm and tried to clear his throat, but all that came out was a cough and a little wheeze. Hot Shot giggled a little and approached him before giving him a quick slap to the back and then stepping back once Blurr regained himself. He looked up at Hot Shot and said, "How?"

Hot Shot's smile removed itself from her lips and a small frown crossed her optic ridges. "I do not want to talk about it. If you want to know, ask Red Alert or Carlos. Red was the one who caused the whole mess just because he wanted some silly title of 'The Ultimate Prankster'," she replied a little coldly, catching both mechs off guard.

Both Blurr and Sideswipe looked at one another and they quickly moved out of the way as Hot Shot walked between them and out the room, leaving them, Rad and Alexis, and the Minicons to look at one another in confusion about what was on Hot Shot's mind and they looked at Carlos.

"Well?" Blurr asked.

"Don't ask me, dude, ask Red Alert," Carlos grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest, obviously annoyed at the whole situation.

* * *

Hot Shot walked into her quarters and sat down upon her recharge berth. She knew that Optimus had ordered her to rest up, but obviously, she was not in the mood to going to sleep and regaining her strength. She dimmed the lights and tried to lie down and get into recharge mode, but sleep was absolutely impossible, and adjusting to her new form was extremely difficult. Sure it still felt like Hot Shot's old form, but being so lightly built, having boobs and a few other parts she could not describe, it seemed like her whole body was a complete stranger to her. What could she do?

With her mind wondering left and right to places beyond her own head, Hot Shot rolled onto her right side, and then back onto her left. _Good Primus! This berth feels really uncomfortable!_ she thought angrily and rolled onto her right once more, but the discomfort in her neck returned and she groaned before sitting up, rubbing the back of her neck to get rid of the uncomfortableness that was flowing through like an overflowing river.

Sighing, Hot Shot stood up and paced about in her room. Up and down, up and down, up and down. Coming to a halt and listening to her breathing rhythm, Hot Shot continued to stand there for a few minutes longer and she growled angrily.

"This is getting ridiculous!" she shouted, obviously pissed off about trying to recharge. How could she get to sleep when her head kept on spinning at a hundred miles an hour? Deciding to head for the cliff outside and ignore any of the stares that she might get from nearly everyone, Hot Shot left her room in an instant, determined to get her mind off of her thoughts. Who cared if Optimus ordered her to get back to her room to recharge? Screw that order! She needed to go for a drive to take her thoughts off of this whole incident. The next time she saw Red Alert again, she was going to give him the biggest headache of his life.

* * *

Hot Shot stood outside on the edge of the cliff that overlooked Lincoln Town. The warm wind coming from the mountains made her feel much better. She hadn't come across anyone when she'd been on her way outside, and she wondered where the others were. Maybe they in a meeting with Optimus, or perhaps they were just in the Training Room mucking around with another? Hot Shot sniggered and shook her head.

"I thought I might you up here… erm… bro? Or sis?"

Hot Shot turned and noticed Sideswipe approaching her. "I don't think 'bro' would suite me now that I'm… different," Hot Shot replied as she smiled at the younger mech. Sideswipe nodded and he turned his head towards the sun that was beginning to sink behind the mountains. The two watched it in silence until they heard someone else approaching them.

Turning their heads, Hot Shot and Sideswipe spotted Jetfire heading towards them. The Vice Commander looked at Hot Shot with his golden optics and Sideswipe bit his bottom lip, hoping that Jetfire wouldn't make a joke about it.

Unfortunately, he did.

"How's it going toots?" Jetfire asked with a slight snigger.

One minute, Jetfire was standing there, the next, there was a loud bang and the shuttle mech was lying, face first, on the ground with his optics popping out of his head and a huge dent on his head. His right leg twitching in agony and Hot Shot stood back with her optics dimmed as she brushed her hands as though they'd gotten dusty from doing a lot of work, giving a slight 'hmph' and turning her nose up in disgust.

"Some friend you are, Jetfire," Hot Shot growled in annoyance.

"Well, Jetfire, it seems that you just received something more than you bargained for," a familiar voice said with a chuckle.

All three Autobots turned and saw Optimus standing a short distance away. Behind him, Scavenger looked over his old student's shoulder and he shook his head, seeing Hot Shot's new look. More of the silence hung in the air like a terrifying ghost, and no one said a word for a good long while until Hot Shot broke the silence with a slight cough, catching everyone's attention.

"Are you guys going to continue to remain quiet, or should I knock some sense into you all as well?" she asked a little harshly as she folded her arms across her chest. Everyone sniggered and watched as Jetfire picked himself up, rubbing his head painfully.

"You've got quite a punch, Hot Shot," he laughed.

"Want another just to shut you up?" Hot Shot growled, earning a shocked look from Jetfire as the Vice Commander took a step back and waved his hands in front of himself in total panic. Everyone sniggered at the innocence from the Vice Commander. Yeah, Jetfire can be a big pain in the neck sometimes, but his cheerful mood was what kept their spirits up during down times, or when they failed to get a Minicon.

Optimus Prime shook his head, getting everyone's attention as he looked at Hot Shot. "Had a hard time recharging?" he asked.

Hot Shot nodded. "Yeah, this new body feels familiar to me, but somehow, it's like a complete stranger to the whole world, everyone, and me whenever I look at my reflection. Like when I stared at the mirror in the Med-Bay," she replied before turning her head back to the sunset. "It just makes me feel nauseous whenever I stare at myself."

Optimus smiled softly and gently placed a hand on Hot Shot's shoulder, his fingers gently caressing the feminie shoulder that was no longer boxy in a mech's way. "You know, whenever I'm troubled, I would go for a drive. Why don't you go for a drive around the town for a bit, it will help get your mind off of things and I'll join you later," he said, his golden optics looking into Hot Shot's baby blue optics that looked like pools of water that rippled in the dazzling sunlight.

Hot Shot smiled back at her commander and nodded slightly. "Thanks, Optimus," she said and she walked towards the path that led down to Lincoln Town. She stopped and looked back at her friends. "Are you sure?" she asked in confusion.

"Of course I'm sure, you need some time to readjust to yourself so that you can get used to your… new self, if you get what I mean," Optimus replied with a chuckle, earning another small smile from Hot Shot. _Primus! Does she really have to give me that smile every time? _Optimus thought to himself.

Hot Shot then transformed to her vehicle form, which was much sleeker than before, and she zoomed off down towards the town while the other Autobots all shot Optimus an unusual glance. Jetfire couldn't help but snigger at his commander, and friend. "So… who wants to make a bet that something might happen between them?" he asked, earning annoyed glares from his friends.

"Great job on ruining the sunset, Jetfire," Blurr said sarcastically as he rolled his red optics and turned to leave with Scavenger following, leaving Jetfire, Optimus and Sideswipe to lift their optic ridges in puzzlement and look at one another. Jetfire just groaned.

"Anti-social bot!" he huffed in annoyance as he raced after his comrades. "Wait up!"

Optimus shook his head once more before Sideswipe looked at his commander. "You think he… err… I mean… she will be alright?" he asked, his baby blue optics blinking in worry.

Optimus looked towards the youngest member on the Autobot Team and smiled kindly from behind his silver mask. "She'll be fine, Sideswipe, she just needs a little time to herself to adjust to her new self. It could take months for Red Alert to get the parts that he needs to repair the machine and weeks to get it operating again," he answered gently, reassuring the young bot.

Sideswipe nodded as he continued to watch Hot Shot vanish into Lincoln Town. He then turned back to his commander once again. "You going to go after her to make sure she doesn't cause any trouble, or is it just to keep her company?" he asked.

"I'll go in an astrosecond, Sideswipe. But I think I'll give her half an Earth hour before I'll go," Optimus replied with a slight chuckle and he turned and walked away, leaving Sideswipe to continue to watch the sunset on his own before he, too, headed back inside the base to get back to his monitor shift.

* * *

Hot Shot sped happily down the road, her Sparkbeat increasing with excitement at the speed that was begging her to release all at once. But then she remembered that she was in a town and that humans could still be walking around including police cars that did not take kindly to speedy cars. Although she wondered how they would react if they saw that the car did not have a driver. It made her laugh to herself mentally, but she slowed down and reached the speed limit.

Sure it felt good to be out here where there was not a single Decepticon to bother her, but she felt lonely and bored. Just what exactly could she do while she waited for Optimus to come down and accompany her? She could drive around the town for a while and see what she could find out. After all, she never did get the chance to explore Lincoln Town because of being occupied with work, looking for Minicons and fighting Decepticons.

Liking the idea, Hot Shot revered her engines and drove off towards the outside of the town, turning the radio on and listening to a song that would pick up her interest, but to her disappointment, they were mostly love songs and some cruddy slow ones.

"Frag it to the pit!" she growled angrily before she came to a halt at some traffic lights. She was startled when a black vehicle pulled up beside her. She knew who that vehicle was, but she didn't dare to say a word. Quickly, she brought up a hologram of a human female in the driver's seat without thinking, before the vehicle would notice who she was.

When the lights turned green, Hot Shot quickly sped of. If she ever saw that vehicle again while in town, then she would definitely freak out much worse than seeing her new form. _Please, Optimus. Hurry up and get here before Wheeljack notices who I am, even with this stinkin' hologram, _she thought bitterly.

Wheeljack turned a corner, not bothering to follow her. That was too close for comfort. Hot Shot breathed a sigh of relief and continued on her way until she reached her destination. A large park that was big enough for Hot Shot to drive on, but she didn't dare to transform into in case Wheeljack decided to drive by again.

Knowing that she would still stand out as not an ordinary vehicle, Hot Shot moved over to the parking area and set herself there. Sighing in content, Hot Shot found herself preparing to shut her systems down, but she mentally kicked at herself when she realised how late it was and Optimus still hadn't arrived. Maybe he just wanted to let her be to get to know herself a bit more on her own?

It was a possibility.

Sighing when Hot Shot realised the time, she backed out of the parking area and prepared to head back to base, but her wheels came to an abrupt halt when she saw someone sitting right in front of her the moment she was nearly out of the park gates.

"Hello, Hot Shot," Wheeljack's voice said quietly.

_Oh frag it to the pit!_ Hot Shot thought to herself. She was in trouble now, and there was nowhere for her to run.

**

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Spiritimus Prime: Uh oh! Looks like Wheeljack's here! What's going to happen now? Evil cliffhangers! XD Stay tunned to the next chapter! I've got work at a Chicken Farm in the morning and I won't be back until 11:30am. so later guys! (waves and runs out the door before she get's a bat to the head by Hot Shot)


	3. Moody Femme

**Spiritimus Prime: We've got a moody femme on the loose! XD Quick, run away before she pounds your face in like she did to Jetfire! LOL Yeah, Hot Shot deals with the usual female thing that all women fear the most; mood swings. Oh no! XD Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3:

**Moody Femme**

Hot Shot looked left and right as panic began to overtake her systems. With the panic came a sudden Energon rush (adrenaline rush) that demanded her to fight or flee. She mentally bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out a way how to get past Wheeljack, who was blocking the only escape route, without revealing her 'condition'. Oh she was in so much trouble now and there was not a thing she could do about it. Just how could she weave herself out of this? She felt her Sparkbeat a hundred miles an hour and she knew that she had to think fast before Wheeljack would decide on what to do with her.

Doing the only thing that she could possibly do, Hot Shot quickly switched her voice to her old mech voice and said, "Something I can do for you, Wheeljack?"

The black vehicle slowly drove forward until his front just barely touched Hot Shot's own. A sudden tingle swept through her body as alarming bells screamed through her head, telling her that she should get out of there as quickly as possible. When Wheeljack didn't say anything right away, Hot Shot had the feeling that he was examining her slightly sleeker form.

"You look different, Hot Shot. Did you get an upgrade?" Wheeljack asked as a slight purr could be heard from within his engines. Oh this was so not good! If only Optimus had come with her in the first place, then he'd know what to do without drawing any attention to himself.

"Erm… you could say that. I'm… actually on a diet. Got to cut down on the Energon goodies, shouldn't I?" Hot Shot laughed nervously, nearly revealing her feminine voice. She felt so stupid saying such things and this situation was just about to get even worse than it already was. This is so ridiculous! Hot Shot backed up a bit as Wheeljack drew a little closer, invading her personal space.

The black bot seemed to frown in his vehicle form as he looked Hot Shot over one last time. "Something tells me that something happened to you before you came out here… care to tell me what it is even though we're enemies?" he asked, his purr growing deeper.

"Like I could trust you, Wheeljack? You're a Decepticon, remember? Normally I would, but unfortunately, that's no longer possible after what you almost did to me and Sideswipe a month ago. I'm sorry that we're enemies and I know that you cannot forgive me for leaving you in the flames, but… if there was a way for you to ever become friends with me again, then I would accept that. But since you chose to side with the Decepticons… then I cannot do this anymore. I've tried everything I could to make you see that I had no intention of leaving you there, but I guess our friendship is at an end."

Wheeljack just laughed. "Lame speeches just like Optimus Prime, Hot Shot. Your words mean nothing to me now that we're enemies!" Without warning, his back wheels gunned it and he slammed into Hot Shot's front, causing her to spin out of control as Wheeljack shot past her and his bonnet scraped across her side.

Hot Shot, without thinking, accidentally switched her vocal processor back to her normal one and she shouted, "Damn it, Wheeljack! What is it with you?"

Wheeljack heard Hot Shot's voice and he came to an abrupt halt, his wheels kicking up dirt and grass as he stared at Hot Shot with shock. "Hot Shot… what happened to you?" he asked, the sudden surprise nearly catching Hot Shot completely off guard.

Hot Shot growled and she noticed that Wheeljack had left the gate wide open. It was a perfect opportunity for her to escape! Kicking her wheels into life, Hot Shot darted forward and through the gate, leaving Wheeljack to sit there, in the middle of the park, dumb-folded.

Hot Shot had never driven so fast in her entire life as the fear continued to chase her all the way back to the Autobot base. She had a feeling that Wheeljack might tell Megatron about what he'd just heard, and seen, but it didn't matter. At that was important to her was to get back to the others and collapse on her bed in her quarters and sleep the night away.

She was only halfway up the mountain where the platform was located at the front of the base when she spotted a pair of headlights heading straight towards her. In her panic, she honked her horn, alerting the vehicle of her coming and it came to a stop in the middle of the road, forcing Hot Shot to stop right in front of it as well. Both of their engines switched off as a familiar voice reached Hot Shot's audio receptors.

"Hot Shot, are you alright? I was just about to join you as I'd promised," Optimus' voice said through the quiet night that Hot Shot had been driving through at top speed. Hot Shot had been hoping to run into Optimus along the way, but she hadn't been expecting to see him coming down so soon.

"Wheeljack… ran… into… him," Hot Shot wheezed.

"Why at this time of night instead of being back at the Decepticons' base?" Optimus asked in confusion. He then frowned when he got the feeling that Hot Shot was not telling him something. "Hot Shot, did something happen to cause all of this?"

Hot Shot cringed when she sensed Prime's temper beginning to flare. "I tried to… conceal my voice so he wouldn't think that I was like this so that he wouldn't tell the other Decepticons, but it slipped when he… rammed into me. His… his voice sounded… unusual when he spoke to me."

Optimus sighed deeply. He knew exactly where this was going with Hot Shot speaking in this terrified voice. It hurt him to see her stressed, but what could he do to comfort her? Unsureness swept through him as he mentally shook his head. "We'll worry about your encounter with Wheeljack later. Right now, I'm more concerned about what he would tell Megatron if he said anything. Come on. Let's get you back to base. We'll discuss this later when you're not feeling stressed." And, without another word, Optimus turned himself around and waited for Hot Shot to catch up with him. He felt terrible for just dismissing this conversation and leaving Hot Shot's worry of Wheeljack nearly, as the humans say, hitting on her, but he had to get this straightened out in the morning.

Hot Shot slowly drove up beside her leader. The terror was still within her mind, but it was less panicked than before now that she was with Optimus. In the presence of him, she felt a little safer knowing that he would protect her with his very life if needed to be. But there was no need at the moment. She just needed some of his words to reassure her that it won't happen again. But no words were given out and she reckoned that he was in deep thought about what Megatron would think if Wheeljack opened his big fat mouth.

The two then drove back to the Autobots' base in silence. The only thing that was comforting to the both of them was the moon's gentle beam that was cast out onto their metallic frames, making them shine in its warm glow now that there were no clouds in the sky to hide the magnificent ball of rock that almost seemed to be alive with its fine beam of light that was not its own.

* * *

By the following morning, Hot Shot was awakened by the sounds of bangs and curses. Knowing that it was Red Alert working on something, the ex-mech rubbed her temples with her thumb and index finger as she blinked away the tiredness from her systems. Not much had happened since last night.

She remembered coming back into the base, Optimus escorting her to her quarters, and then lying down on her recharge berth before tossing and turning in her sleep as she dreamed unusual dreams that ranged from her happily racing down a track in her vehicle form, and then to when Wheeljack would appear right behind her, chasing her down the track as he purred in his engines that sent chills down her back.

Three times it happened during night and three times she woke up to the friendly darkness of her quarters and then drop off back into recharge before the dreams would start back up again. It seemed like a never-ending pattern that refused to leave her alone. Sure it terrified her sometimes, but for some reason, she always seemed to find security amongst the walls of her room.

Standing up, Hot Shot walked out of her quarters to go get some Energon to take her mind off of her dreams that sent another wave of chills down her back like a rattlesnake's rattler.

* * *

"You're up a little early, Hot Shot buddy," Smokescreen greeted as Hot Shot walked into the Rec. Room to collect an Energon cube.

The ex-mech looked back at her old friend as she took a sip of Energon and smiled warmly. "I couldn't sleep. I keep having these dreams that go good one nanosecond, and then they go bad the next," she explained as she swirled the Energon within the cube and looked at her reflection in the purple liquid.

"Maybe you're just a bit worried about what the Decepticons will think of you as a femme," Smokescreen said brightly, trying to lighten up the mood of his depressed friend. Unfortunately, it didn't work, it only made Hot Shot's mood even worse as a loud crack was heard from the Energon cube she was holding as the pressure, she'd been applying to it, put a crack in it.

Smokescreen winced as Hot Shot glared daggers of ice at him with her blue optics. "Was that meant to be a joke or were you just trying to be smart?" she snapped as Jetfire and Optimus Prime walked into the room to see what was going on until they heard Hot Shot's snap and the crack applied to the cube.

"What happened?" Jetfire asked as he looked at Smokescreen, and then back at Hot Shot, who was still staring like an angry beast. When no one said a word, Optimus decided to take a guess on what had happened, but he didn't dare to say anything.

In a fluid like motion, Hot Shot stormed out of the room, slamming the cube down onto a table as she went past and barged between her commanding officers, who stared in shock and surprise at the sudden moodiness of their friend. They looked at each other, and then back at Smokescreen, who shrugged.

"Must be a femme thing," the crane mech joked, earning glares from both commanders before Optimus turned and walked away to go and find out what was on Hot Shot's mind, although he had a feeling what it was about, but he had to be sure first.

* * *

Hot Shot harshly pulled out her blaster and let loose so many rounds at a single target that the machine was almost torn to pieces if it hadn't gotten up another bullseye for her to shoot at again. Hot Shot loaded up her gun again before, swiftly releasing another round of raging bullets.

The bullets were coming in so fast and quickly that they might've hit anyone that would've entered the room if they were unprepared. Unfortunately, Optimus walked right into the room when Hot Shot let loose a third round of raging bullets and one of them hit the Autobot Commander right on the left shoulder. He'd been prepared for the sudden attack, but the bullet had come so quickly that he didn't get enough time to dodge it.

A cry of agony forced Hot Shot to stop when her audio receptors picked up the sound. She turned swiftly and saw Optimus clutching a bleeding arm. In her terror of harming her commander, Hot Shot rushed off to get a medical kit before returning and sending dozens of waves of apologies to Optimus as she took out a bandage and began wrapping his arm in it.

Optimus kept on denying the apologies with a shake of his head and saying, "I knew you were frustrated, Hot Shot, but I didn't know you could shoot that fast unless something was really bothering you. You do not need to apologise for a mistake you made. I'm not dead, and that's the main thing."

"That still doesn't mean that I had the right to shoot you," Hot Shot answered as she finished wrapping the bandage by tightening it up, making Optimus hiss in pain, and then tucking the tip underneath it before apologising one last time.

"Hot Shot, I know something is bothering you, and I can tell it has nothing to do with what Smokescreen unless…"

"Unless Wheeljack opened up his big fat mouth and told Megatron about my appearance?" Hot Shot interrupted in a dangerous tone as she looked away in disgust, growling under her breath. "When Smokescreen mentioned the word 'femme', everything just… snapped."

Optimus sighed and gently placed a hand on Hot Shot's shoulder. "Perhaps you're still trying to adjust to your new form. Maybe you should go and see Red Alert, perhaps he can help you."

But Hot Shot shrugged off the hand before turning her back on Optimus and huffing. "Easy for you to say, _sir_," she growled as she looked down at the floor, trying to prevent herself from snapping at her commander again. She sighed and glanced back at Optimus, who was watching her body language carefully. "Look, ever since last night, I've had a hard time getting into recharge and I've been having dreams that wake me up in the middle of the night."

Optimus gave a look of concern. "Dreams about what happened between you and Wheeljack?" he asked.

Hot Shot nodded.

"I suggest that you stay off the battlefield for an Earth week, Hot Shot. If Megatron has found out about your transformation, then we should worry about your safety first. I know that it seems annoying to be cooped up in the base, but how can I watch and protect you when I'm keeping Megatron occupied?"

"How about just sending me to search for the Minicon?"

"I would, but then another Decepticon, such as Wheeljack, will come along and take you away or could do serious harm to you if you know what I mean."

"I can defend myself, Optimus! You cannot protect me forever!"

Optimus recoiled from Hot Shot's snap. He hadn't expected the youngling to say such a thing, but obviously, some things can be hard to predict. He felt a little guilty for saying it, but his protective side was getting the better of him. Always putting his soldiers before himself was always part of his main priority when he desired to protect the weak and helpless while hoping to collect all the Minicons and set them free once his mission was complete.

Hot Shot emitted a sigh before she looked away again. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what is wrong with me," she mumbled as she felt her hands clench into fists of frustration and she slammed her right one into a wall, causing Optimus to widen his optics in surprise as he watched the youngster take her anger out on it.

"Perhaps you should go and see Red Alert," Optimus suggested.

Hot Shot looked back at Optimus, she was glad to have him in here instead of Scavenger. She nodded her gratitude before quietly walking past Optimus when the Autobot Commander's voice caused her to stop and look back.

"And Hot Shot, don't worry. You'll pull through this, I know you will," Optimus said gently, his words of encouragement filling Hot Shot's Spark. She smiled a little and she stuffed her gun back into her sub-space pocket and left the room while Optimus watched after her for a few more seconds before he too left the room to do some paperwork in his office.

* * *

"So, what kind of problem do you have, Hot Shot?" Red Alert asked as Hot Shot sat down on a medical table while the CMO examined her but found no problem.

Hot Shot shrugged her sleek shoulders. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I felt… temperamental towards Smokescreen and Optimus. So much happened during those split seconds that I broke my Energon cube and felt like punching Smokescreen and Optimus right in the face," she explained.

Red Alert placed a hand underneath his chin and thought for a moment. "I'm guessing you're experiencing mood swings," he answered.

Hot Shot gave a look of horror. "Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

"No, it's normal in all females, including Transformers," Red Alert replied as he moved over towards a cabinet, opened the door and began searching between bottles and cases that ranged from drugs to medicines. "Female humans go through mood swings when their about to go onto their menstruation period. Femmes do not go through that, they just get extremely moody for no apparent reason unless something was bothering them to the extreme measures." He looked over his shoulder. "What did Smokescreen say to upset you?"

Hot Shot told him what she told Optimus.

Red Alert nodded. "I thought so. With Wheeljack flirting around you like that, it's a wonder that you haven't managed to snap up until now when Smokescreen pressed a button he didn't know you had since your accident."

"How goes the order for the parts?" Hot Shot asked.

"I managed to order them in last night, so they should be arriving by next month as I predicted," Red Alert answered as he reached into the cabinet and took out a small bottle. "Take a sip of this, it will keep you mildly temperamental, so you should be less prolonged to snapping at everyone without realising it. It will last for an Earth week, but when it wears off, come straight back here so that I can give you another dose." He handed the bottle to Hot Shot after removing the stopper.

Hot Shot took it and sipped the bottle before handing it back to Red Alert. "How long before it starts to take affect?" she asked.

"In about ten minutes. You won't notice anything until you start interacting with the others." Red Alert then placed the bottle back into the cabinet and gave Hot Shot one last check-up before letting her go. She left the room in a hurry and Red Alert returned to repairing a device that Sideswipe had accidentally damaged.

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Spiritimus Prime: Hahaha! Had to get Red Alert to explain about the woman thing! It was so funny that I was laughing as I was typing this up. Since femme Transformers cannot get it, they might as well get the usual mood swing thing like all women do. XD Tehehe. I'll try not to say something like that again, but I cannot guarantee anything because this is rated M for sexual humour and disturbing scenes which will come up some time in the future of the story. Anyway, I hope enjoyed this chapter and stay tunned for the next one!


	4. A Friend in Need

**Spiritimus Prime: Sorry I took so long, just been a little hard writing thanks to work and other things, so it's pissing me off to the maximum. Oh well, at least the wait was worth it, wasn't it? I've changed the category of the story to Hurt/Comfort/Romance for a reason, but I think you'll understand the reason. Sure humour is still involved, but it's more like the categories for a reason. Scavenger gets a little rude towards Jetfire. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter 4:**

**A Friend in Need**

Three days passed quietly with barely any Decepticon or Minicon activity, it puzzled the Autobots about what was going on, but, nonetheless, it was a good time to spend with each other and building stronger bonds of friendship that could withstand the test of time. Hot Shot found herself spending most of her less moody times outside and watching the sunset alone. As far as she was concerned, she no longer wanted to go and explore the rest of Lincoln Town, and this worried her friends, including the kids.

Alexis, Carlos, and Rad decided to keep the mech-turned-femme company, after all, she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts about something, and talking about your problems was the start of building up a friendship… that is if the person did talk about what was bothering them.

Hot Shot was so busy focusing on the sunrise that she didn't hear the coming of the kids until Rad cleared his throat, catching her completely by surprise. She looked down at them, but mostly keeping her blue optics set on something else instead of the sun.

No one said a word for the next half hour until Alexis sat down beside Hot Shot's foot and placed a hand upon it. Hot Shot's attention was fully upon her now, and she waited to hear what she would say. The silence was welcoming to all four of them and they continued to keep it that way until Rad broke the silence by saying, "Are you okay, Hot Shot?"

"Does it look like I'm alright?" Hot Shot asked a little coldly, causing the kids to wince a little, but they didn't run from her at all. Hot Shot turned her head away, feeling ashamed for acting so cold towards the kids. The drug that Red Alert had given her for her must be starting to wear off, but that was not true, it still only had a few more days to go before she had to go see him at once. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly. "I just haven't been feeling like myself lately."

"It's okay, Hot Shot, we understand," said Alexis kindly.

Hot Shot nodded her thanks and smiled a little as she gently picked the kids up in her hands and placed them on her lap. Together, they watched as the sun continued to rise until its bottom rays were no longer touching the mountain's top. Hot Shot looked down at the kids and said, "You guys wouldn't happen to have school now, would you?"

Carlos shook his head. "Nah, dude, we've got the day off. We thought we'd come down here a little early and see how you were faring," he said as he looked up at Hot Shot. Hot Shot nodded once more and gently petted Carlos on the head, earning a laugh as Rad and Alexis sniggered.

Hot Shot then turned her gaze onto the town. The thought of going back down there and encountering Wheeljack again terrified her greatly, but she pushed the negative thought towards the back of her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone approaching from the sides and she turned her head to see Smokescreen and Sideswipe standing there. Hot Shot smiled warmly and gently placed the kids down on the ground before standing up and approaching them.

The three just stood there eying each other until Hot Shot lowered her head and said quietly, "I'm sorry about earlier, Smokescreen… I just… couldn't contain myself."

"Hey, no biggy, Hot Shot, you didn't mean it, and neither did I. I was just trying to lighten up your mood. It always does help, doesn't it?" Smokescreen asked, lifting an optic ridge as Hot Shot giggled a little. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," Hot Shot replied, regaining control of her laughter. She sighed and rubbed her temples exhaustedly. She still hadn't been sleeping well during the pass three days due to those dreams. She shook her head to clear her head and smiled again when she noticed that Smokescreen and Sideswipe were giving a look of worry. "Anyway, I suppose I might have some work to do. I'll catch you guys later." And with that, she took off at a run without a glance over her shoulder, leaving her friends standing there in puzzlement.

* * *

"For Primus' sake, Scavenger, that thing goes here!" Jetfire argued as he and the old warrior worked on some kind of device. They'd been at this for nearly half an Earth hour, but so far, they couldn't seem to piece this thing together.

"No, I swear it goes there!" Scavenger snapped as he pointed to the other side of the device. This was getting annoying now. Oh sure he was an intelligent mech that knew how to fight and train other young mechs, but building things was not entirely his thing. Okay, so maybe he did build a few good things, but this one was obviously different.

"Bah! You call yourself a teacher?! What do you teach now these days, nursing?" Jetfire shot back as he slammed his fist on the table. This was starting to piss him off now, and he hated helping Scavenger make things.

"Go suck on an interface!" Scavenger growled as he stood up in a dominant stance, but Jetfire stood up as well, bawling up his fists as his golden optics glowed in anger and annoyance.

None of them were going to back down, and it looked like it was about to get extremely ugly.

Hot Shot, who'd been passing by to go to the Training Room, had heard the commotion and had come to investigate. When she saw Jetfire and Scavenger at each other's throats, she thought she might as well let it go until she heard Scavenger say something very rude that caused both mechs to stand up in high stances that would make anyone tremble. _I think I've done enough watching. Guess it's time to interfere, _she thought and she ran into the room. "Come on guys, break it up, you're acting like me when I was a little younger!" she called as she got between them and placed both of her hands on their chests.

Both Jetfire and Scavenger looked down to see Hot Shot standing between them. They looked like they'd just about to punch her, but they contained themselves from harming her and stepped back, looking rather annoyed, but ashamed nonetheless. They backed away and looked away from each other, not wanting to see what the other's facial expressions were.

Hot Shot sighed in relief and stepped away from them. "So, what are you guys working on?" she asked.

Jetfire shrugged. "Scavenger insisted that I help him design it, but he won't fill me in on what it is," he answered.

"I see, well, whatever it is, it must be interesting. Erm… just don't push your luck with the big guy, Jets. If you ask him questions, it only pisses him off." Hot Shot said, lifting an optic ridge, but Jetfire just rolled his optics. Hot Shot shook her head and sighed. "I was on my way to the Training Room, could any of you care to join me?"

Scavenger sighed. "You go ahead, Jetfire, I have to finish off this device and show it to Optimus Prime. Besides, you need a break after what just happened," he said, waving a hand to shoo them off.

Both Jetfire and Hot Shot beamed in delight and they raced out the room like sparklings on high Energon rush.

* * *

As they arrived in the Training Room, Hot Shot rushed towards the weapons rack and took down two guns. She chucked one to Jetfire, who caught it easily, and pressed a couple of buttons that started up the bullseyes. "Still feeling a little rusty, Jetfire?" she challenged.

"Femme or not, I'm gonna beat you into a puddle of slag!" Jetfire laughed as he set the targets onto hard. He twirled his gun around his fingers and did a mocking bow. "Ladies first."

"I'm going to make you eat those words," Hot Shot growled as she lifted her gun and took careful aim. She watched the swinging bullseyes carefully as she kept both of her optics open to make sure that she didn't miss. She pulled the trigger and the blast came shooting out. It was almost perfect, but it just missed the bullseye by a mere human inch. Growling, she shook her head and looked at Jetfire, telling him to not say a word about it.

Jetfire just snigged and he too let off a round, but he also missed, but only by a centimetre. Shrugging, he leaned on a wall and waited for Hot Shot to have her go. The game continued for nearly an hour, but none of them could ever seen to beat the other, always getting a hit, but sometimes never as they always stayed neck to neck.

Finally, Jetfire suggested that they take a break and they walked off towards the Rec. Room.

* * *

Hot Shot set herself down as she handed Jetfire a cube of Energon. With her systems still heating from all that blasting, she instantly put the cube to her lips and drank it down all in one gulp. She hadn't realised that she was boiling hot underneath her armour up until now when she rushed the Energon down her throat. Shaking her head to clear her head, she placed a fist underneath her chin and leaned forward a little, just staring into thin air.

Jetfire watched his friend carefully. He could tell she was thinking about something, but he decided to not ask about it in case that he might offend her like he did last time when he called her 'toots', which he'd ended up getting bitch-slapped by her and had a sore face for a long while.

Hot Shot sighed before she stood up and placed the cube in the recycle bin before heading out the room, leaving Jetfire to just watch her walk away and wonder where she was going. He thought about following her, but decided against it in case she wanted to be left alone.

* * *

Hot Shot found herself sitting alone in the corner of her quarters. She rocked back and forth, her back gently touching the cold wall without realising it. The more she rocked, the more she became lost in her thoughts as she trembled. But it was not from the cold that actually greeted her with warmth and security, but from terror when she thought of the Decepticons that could possibly want her for their own pleasure if Wheeljack said a word about it.

At least the silence was calming enough to help keep her mind focused on her thoughts. She hadn't noticed that she'd locked the door until someone knocked on it. She looked up from placing her head upon her thighs and listened as she tilted her head to the side. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me," a familiar voice answered.

Hot Shot frowned. Out of all the mechs it had to be, why Optimus? Growling, she looked away and said quietly, "Go away, I don't want to see anyone, and that includes you, Optimus."

She heard Optimus sigh and his footsteps faded away. At last, she was alone with her thoughts and that was exactly what she wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

"How did it go?" Blurr asked Optimus as the Autobot Commander walked into the Control Room after being rejected of entering her quarters. He looked at the sniper mech with his golden optics and his silent stare was the only thing that Blurr needed to know that Hot Shot had refused to let her commander in, even if he just wanted to talk.

"Perhaps it would be wise to leave her alone for the time being," Red Alert said from afar as he looked up from fixing up the monitor that had gotten broken just yesterday after when the kids had fiddled around it when they wanted to play a few games. Obviously, the monitor had rejected the game and crashed, creating a Blue Screen of Death. While the Autobots had been annoyed with the results, it had given them something to do while the Minicons and Decepticons were being very quiet. So not only was it a bad thing, it was also a good thing.

"You maybe right, Red Alert, but I cannot help but feel concerned on what she's thinking and going through since Wheeljack had attacked her," Optimus said as he nodded. It not only made him concerned for the mech-turned-femme, but it also pained him to see her go through such things on her own.

"She'll talk when she's ready," said Scavenger, who'd been leaning on a wall at the back of the room. "Give her some time, Optimus, and you may get what you need from her."

Optimus nodded. He was glad that Scavenger was here. He could always trust the old warrior to speak with words of wisdom that was to never be ignored. And even when he needed some guidance, he always sought for Scavenge whenever he possibly could.

* * *

Hot Shot, for some odd reason, began to feel her Sparkbeat increasing. Her breathing became shorter and her body temperature began to rise beyond normal degrees. She wasn't sure what was wrong with herself, but she had the feeling it had something to do with the stress that she was feeling. Her optic sight began to blur, but she shook her head to clear it. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her systems, growing stronger, and stronger, and becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

_Come on, Hot Shot, calm down! You've felt this fear before and you can do it again, _she thought angrily as she took a deep breath. And with that breath she took, she felt her systems return to normal as the stress left her tensed up body. But the only thing that refused to go away was the blur in her optic sensors. Placing a hand upon her head and pulling her legs closer to her body to offer more warmth, she continued to slowly breathe that caused her Sparkbeat to return to normal, including her body temperature. Maybe she was just freaking out about Wheeljack.

Sighing, glad that the incident was over, Hot Shot got up slowly and approached her recharge berth. She was tired and exhausted from the whole stress thing, and an afternoon rest would do her some good perhaps. Lying down on the berth and not bothering to remove her armour to make her sleep more comfortable, she instantly dropped into sleep mode before she could even blink.

But when sleep fell over her optic sensors, her dreams began again.

_**

* * *

**_

(Dream: Hot Shot's POV)

_I looked around at the world that surrounded me. A wide open road with no one driving on it stretched across the landscape, chasing away all my troubled thoughts. I took a deep breath, breathing in the sweet smell of fresh air that contained tiny particles and was friendly towards all life-forms. I looked down upon myself and saw that I was in my normal form._

_There were no thin body parts, no pointed chest, and no wide hips. I was normal again, my old self before this whole incident even happened. It felt good to be my mech gender, and there was no one to celebrate it with me. Sure I felt a little lonely, but having the road all to myself was a good thing. It meant that no one would bother to stop me when I went at the highest speed that I wanted._

_I realised I was standing on the side of the road, so I stepped onto it and shifted to my speedy vehicle form. Not only was my form normal again, but I was less curved and my wheels were a lot rougher than I remembered. Rough tyres or not, it was good to be me again and I was not going to allow such thoughts condemn myself._

_Starting up my engine and releasing the brake, I sped off down the quiet road, feeling the wind rippling across my sleek vehicle body. I felt every part of my negative thoughts vanishing before I could even think again. If my head was available, I would've lifted it up and felt more of the wind without even noticing its touch unless I slowed down._

_I don't know how long I drove for, but I think it seemed like forever, and forever is what I liked the most. But, my thoughts were interrupted when I heard the sound of another vehicle approaching from behind. Frowning, I looked into my side view mirror and saw a black vehicle approaching._

_The vehicle was a little bulky, and it had a scar ranging across its hood. I could faintly see a tiny purple symbol that was identical to the Decepticons symbol. I felt pure terror enter my CPU and my whole peaceful world went black and blood red. I instantly knew who it was, and the overwhelming fear pulsed through me like human blood rushing through the human body at an alarming rate. And in my fear, I sped up my wheels and flew off without a second thought._

_The black vehicle began to pick up speed and followed after me. The more I tried to go faster, the faster the vehicle got and I tried to swivel around, but the road was too straight and I couldn't even go any faster than I already was going. Without Jolt, I could not stay ahead of Wheeljack._

"_There's no escape, Hot Shot!" Wheeljack's voice called from behind._

_He was right, there was nowhere for me to go, and there was nothing I could do to defeat him. How could I fight someone who was capable of teleporting and multiplying himself? So, the only thing I could do was run until either one of us dropped dead from exhaustion. _

_But, in this world, everything was eternal._

"_Leave me alone, Wheeljack!" I snapped as I tried to mauver around, but with little success._

_Wheeljack just laughed as he gained up on me, his sides brushing against my own. The tremor of fear increased dramatically and I shuddered as I tried to ram into him, but he vanished in an instant and appeared on my left, his sides brushing against me again._

_Without warning, Wheeljack shifted to his robot mode and leapt on my back. I gave a cry and the increase of weight forced me to twist to the right. I skidded and Wheeljack leapt off my back that caused me to go off my wheels and I landed with a harsh crash on my back, my wheels in the air, spinning in a helpless way. I felt dizzy and sore from the impact, but the worse was yet to come._

_Wheeljack began to approach me and I jiggled about in fear. Where was Optimus? Why wasn't he here? I tried to get myself back onto my wheels, but I failed miserably. The cold feeling swept over me like ice chilling me to the bone even though I didn't have the same structure as a human did, but that is what it felt like for some odd reason._

_A hand touch my sensitive wheels and I opened up my optics, seeing that I was back in robot mode without even realising it. How did I transform without feeling it? I wasn't sure, but when I opened up my optics, I really wished I hadn't because Wheeljack was looking down at me while I was lying on my back, his blue optics were squinting at the sight of me and he touched my sides, causing me to shudder again._

"_Why do you resist me, Hot Shot? Weren't we lovers before all of this started?" Wheeljack asked._

_I growled and tried to struggle, but I failed again as Wheeljack then leaned forward and catching my lips in his before biting down harshly, making them bleed from his bite. It hurt, and I wanted to scream in frustration._

"_You cannot escape me, and you know it."_

_I could help but scream, much to Wheeljack's satisfaction._

* * *

"Hot Shot, wake up!"

Hot Shot screamed again and lashed out with a foot, kicking someone in the thigh. The someone bit back a need to groan in pain as he grabbed Hot Shot's shoulders and shook her gently. Hot Shot thrashed around as she struggled to wake up from the nightmare that threatened to consume her.

"Hot Shot, wake up!" the someone cried again.

Hot Shot's optics brightened and she sat up with a start, screaming as loud as she could and caused the someone to jump back from the sudden cry. It hurt his sensitive audio receptors, but it wasn't that bad compared to Jetfire's. He sighed in relief as Hot Shot looked around in fear and brought her legs close to her chest by wrapping her arms around them, trembling in fear as she looked towards the someone. All she saw was golden optics and the faint red form of the Autobot Commander.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"I was on my way to my office to do some paperwork when I heard you screaming. I override the code to your quarters and tried to wake you up, but it took me nearly ten Earth minutes to get you back. Was the nightmare about Wheeljack again?" Optimus asked, tilting his head to the side.

Hot Shot nodded and explained about the dream. When she'd finished, Optimus nodded slowly and brought her into a warm hug, his fingers gently stroking her face as he rocked her back and forth like a father caressing his child. "It's going to be alright now, Hot Shot, you'll see," he whispered kindly.

Hot Shot nodded slightly and she blushed a little before removing herself from Optimus' hug. She looked away to hide her bright red cheeks, she was glad that the room was dark so that Optimus couldn't see her face. When the heat in her cheeks removed itself, she looked back towards Optimus and said, "I think I'll be alright now. Thanks for coming in to wake me up."

"You're welcome, Hot Shot. Do you want me to stay with you a little while until you fall back into recharge mode, or are you going to be okay?" Optimus asked.

"No, I think I will be. Thanks again."

Optimus nodded and he stood up before turning to leave. When he was halfway out the door, he looked over his shoulder to see Hot Shot rubbing the back of her neck for some odd reason and lying back down with her back facing the Autobot Commander. He sighed and then headed out the room, leaving Hot Shot to sleep in peace, in which she did with hardly a nightmare coming back that night.

_A new record I guess, _Hot Shot thought to herself.

**

* * *

**

Spiritimus Prime: Yeah, there's my proof on the category thing. XD Hope you liked the chapter, and remember to R&R, it will give me more energy! w00t! Later guys, and stay tunned for the next chapter!


	5. Let it Go

**Spiritimus Prime: Update this, update that! There's so much I have to catch up on! Stupid, stupid step-mum for banishing me from the computer for a bloody week! Oh well, at least I did something else, and that was watch my step-brother play Dead Space on the PS3, it was an exciting and scary game, but I swear I'm not going to play it. Too scary for me. XD Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

**Let it Go**

If the Autobots had hoped to not have a Minicon activate while Hot Shot was still a femme, they were certainly wrong… big time. A Minicon had decided to come to life in the high country of Victoria in the driest continent on the planet Earth… Australia. The kids had insisted that they come along to find the Minicon, but Optimus would not allow it this time. Hot Shot tried, but again, Optimus declined, because he feared for her safety, and that Megatron might try to get his hands on her if he saw her.

Hot Shot tried to protest even further until Optimus finally gave in. But, as long as Hot Shot stuck close and would get out of there if Megatron did notice, then everything would be fine. Red Alert decided that he would remain behind to look after the base until his friends' return.

And, without further ordeal, the Autobots left for their destination.

* * *

"'Need to Stay close'... Pah! Don't need to now," Hot Shot grumbled as the other Autobots lifted their optic ridges at her. Optimus pretended to not hear the complaining. At least her personality was still normal, instead of being quiet and downhearted like before when he'd given her comfort last night.

"Don't be so sure, Hot Shot," Blurr said without warning.

Hot Shot just rolled her optics at her friend before glancing around. There were unusual trees surrounding them, including proud mountains that seemed to have odd looking tops. For instance, one looked like it was shaped like a ram's head, and another had a top shaped like a bull's.

"This place is so odd... no wonder they call this place Australia," said Sideswipe.

Scavenger frowned. "Show some respect, youngling," he commanded sternly, but not unkindly. _Younglings, _the old warrior thought to himself. _They always forget that we're treading on a planet that thrives on trees for oxygen. The mountains are there to maintain the planet's beauty as well._

"Alright, men, settle down now," Optimus called as he looked back at the others. "We mustn't forget that we're here to find the Minicon, not play around like sparkling in a playground."

"Yes, sir," everyone answered.

"We'll split into pairs for the time being. Keep in com-link range until further notice. Understood?"

"Roger that. I'll go with Optimus, and Hot Shot can stick with him and me. How does that sound, sir?" Jetfire asked.

Hot Shot did her best to bite back the need to growl in annoyance. There was no way, in the Universe, was she ever going to stick with Optimus and Jetfire. She was not a damsel in distress, and she could look after herself. Frowning at Jetfire, she was about to speak her objection when Optimus nodded in agreement to Jetfire's statement.

Shocked with her commander's decision, Hot Shot's lips quivered before she huffed and looked away, obviously not pleased with where this was going.

Once the others had been paired up, Optimus Prime, Hot Shot, and Jetfire then set off to search for the Minicon.

* * *

Optimus carefully unturned a rock with his silver hands. Seeing nothing underneath it, he put it back where it belonged and looked towards Hot Shot and Jetfire. The mech-turned-femme was searching amongst the gumtrees. Despite her distaste for the tall green objects, she was extremely careful with their branches as she removed her face from the delicate leaves.

Optimus watched as Hot Shot's form bent down, her curved body moving with delicacy of a flower. His golden optics then lay upon her buttocks for a moment before they widened in shock and surprise before he shook his head and rubbed his temples. _Come on, Optimus, get a grip on yourself! You're not hitting on your soldier... are you? _he thought to himself.

Jetfire approached his commander and shook his head. "No sign of the Minicon here, sir," he reported. But, he noticed that Optimus was not paying any attention to him. Lifting an optic ridge and looking in Optimus' direction, he noticed that he'd been looking at Hot Shot. Sniggering, he poked Optimus' shoulder that caused him to jump a little.

Whirling upon his Second in Command, Optimus got ready to bark at him when he noticed the look that Jetfire was giving him. "What is it?" he asked, trying to hide his embarrassment of staring at Hot Shot's body.

"Trying to get a good look, are you?" Jetfire asked as he elbowed Optimus' chest plate.

"No I am not, Jetfire," Optimus huffed and looked away, obviously annoyed with the shuttle mech.

"Sure you are, Optimus. I've seen the way you look at her."

Optimus growled and rolled his optics. "Drop the discussion, Jetfire. I'm not in the mood for this," he mumbled as his golden optics frowned in annoyance. Jetfire was about to press the matter even further when Optimus gave him the glare to shut up, which he obeyed without a hesitation, knowing better than to get on his commander's nerves.

Hot Shot took her head out from the trees and turned to Optimus and Jetfire. "Nothing over here, sir," she said as she shook her head.

"We'll check around the plains, the Minicon might be hidden in the grass, or a rock," said Optimus Prime. Hot Shot and Jetfire nodded in agreement and they prepared to move away when a blast came out of nowhere and blasted Jetfire's powerful blaster right out of his hand. Whirling around, the Autobots turned to face the attacker and found themselves face to face with Wheeljack, Megatron, and Starscream.

"Hot Shot," Optimus mumbled to the yellow bot, "get away from here, now."

Hot Shot turned to look at her commander. She was about to protest to let her fight, but she noticed that neither one of the Decepticons had seen her because she was hidden amongst the trees. Lifting an optic ridge, she suddenly realised that Optimus was trying to prevent Megatron from noticing her 'deformity'. Frowning, she sighed and nodded before slowly moving away from the little skirmish that was about to take place.

As Hot Shot moved away slowly, Megatron kept his cannon aimed at Optimus Prime and Jetfire. "So, Prime, you care to tell me if you've found the Minicon, or not?" he asked.

_Wheeljack must've not told Megatron about Hot Shot's accident, but I'm wondering why, _Optimus thought to himself. _Unless he did tell him and Megatron's trying to hide the fact that he knows about it, then Hot Shot's in big trouble, very big trouble with a capital 'T'._

"Does it look like that we've found it?" Jetfire growled.

_Nice going, Jetfire, _Optimus thought angrily.

"Then I guess I'll just destroy you to prevent you from finding it," Megatron laughed as he prepared to pull the trigger on his cannon.

* * *

Hot Shot felt a pang of worry shooting through her systems. If she didn't do something soon, then Optimus Prime and Jetfire were going to be in big trouble. They were outnumbered, and she knew that in her Spark. If they tried to combine into Jet Optimus, then they would be pinned down in just a matter of seconds. Just what could she do to help out?

Something caught Hot Shot's optics and she looked towards the object. It was Jetfire's blaster! Hot Shot had never used Jetfire's blaster before, but she knew that it was a powerful weapon that had a very strong recoil. She would be pushed back by the blast and end up a several miles away from her comrades. Biting her bottom lip, Hot Shot decided to take her chance.

Picking up the weapon carefully, Hot Shot aimed it at Megatron's back.

* * *

"I'm getting tired of waiting, Optimus Prime! Tell me where the Minicon is!" Megatron bellowed as his finger twitched as it drew closer towards the trigger.

"We'll never tell you!" Optimus snarled as his hands clenched into fists.

"Fine then," said Megatron as he removed his finger. "Starscream, take care of Jetfire," he ordered.

"With pleasure," Starscream laughed as he hovered in mid-air and slammed straight into Jetfire's mid-section, moving the Autobot Vice Commander away from the Autobot Leader. As the two moved away into the sky, Optimus realised that he was on his own and outgunned. He got into a fighting stance in case Megatron would charge at him.

"Now, tell us where the Minicon is, or I'll destroy you!" Megatron hissed.

"Forget it, Megatron! Even if I knew where the Minicon was, I would never allow you to get your greedy hands upon it," Optimus countered. If Megatron decided to try and beat the slag out of him, he would never say a word about it. Megatron still thought that he knew one of his men had the Minicon, but Optimus was not bluffing, none of his warriors had it, and he had to keep Megatron occupied until either one of his men found it. _It's a risky move, but I have to do this!_

* * *

Hot Shot watched in horror as Megatron walked up to Optimus Prime and threw a punch into his face. Optimus stumbled when he allowed the blow to fall upon him and he fell to the ground as Megatron planted a kick in his mid-section. Dents and bruises were beginning to form on Prime's proud armour as Megatron rained blow after blow on him.

Hot Shot's optics twitched as she held the blaster steady, but she couldn't fire it. Optimus was in the way, and she didn't want to hurt her commander. Shaking her head in frustration, she looked towards Wheeljack, who was just standing there, not doing anything. _What's he doing? Why won't he help out? _she thought angrily. She frowned and sighed before turning her attention back onto the faction leaders' battle. _I can't let this go on. I know Optimus isn't fighting back because he's biding the others more time to find the Minicon, but he's going to get himself killed._

More frustration began to build up, and she decided that she'd had enough of standing by and watching her commander get hurt.

Taking out Jetfire's blaster, Hot Shot took careful aim, but it was not directed at Megatron, more like... at Wheeljack. A tremor of fear pulsed through Hot Shot when she remembered the terrifying nightmares that had occurred nearly every single night. Wheeljack chasing her during the need for her burst of speed. _I... I can't do it, Wheeljack terrifies me so much._

The painful cries of Optimus Prime caught Hot Shot's audio receptors. She tried to shake off the fear, but the more she thought about the nightmares, the more she felt afraid to conquer her terror. _Damn it! I'm not afraid of Wheeljack, I am not afraid of him! _Gathering as much courage as she possibly could, she took careful aim with the blaster and pointed it right at Wheeljack. "I'm not afraid of you, Wheeljack. It's time that I showed you what I'm still made of, despite being like this," she mumbled to herself and she pulled the trigger that released a powerful blast.

One minute, Hot Shot was standing there, the next minute, she was sent flying a very good distance away. She landed on her back harshly and she felt her breathing become laboured. Tired from absorbing the impact, Hot Shot carefully pushed herself up and saw the damage she'd done. It was a good thing it had been near the plains, otherwise the trees would've been seriously damaged.

Hot Shot saw that Megatron, Optimus Prime, Starscream, Jetfire, and Wheeljack had moved out of the way just in time. No one was hurt, say for Prime's dented body, and she knew that the others were on their way to investigate the situation.

Hot Shot heard the pounding of approaching feet, and she knew that Optimus Prime and Jetfire were on their way to help her. Before she blacked out, Hot Shot heard Smokescreen say that he'd obtained the Minicon. Her optics went dim, and she knew no more.

* * *

"Hot Shot, can you hear me?"

Hot Shot turned her optics online and she realised that she'd been lying on a medical table. Turning her head to face the owner's voice, she was surprised to see Optimus Prime, Red Alert, and Jetfire, standing over her. Biting her bottom lip, she noticed that they were staring at her as though she had done something wrong.

"Am I in trouble?" Hot Shot asked, looking towards Optimus Prime.

"Yes, and no," Optimus answered as he chuckled.

"Well, okay, but considering how I used Jetfire's blaster to get Megatron off of you, I suppose I could be," Hot Shot joked lamely. _Yeah, wait a go, Hot Shot. That was a brilliant way to point out the obvious, _she thought bitterly.

"Actually, I'm quite proud of you that you fired Jetfire's blaster at Wheeljack. I saw you trying to fight off your fear of hitting me, as well as trying to conquer the fear that he'd planted in your mind. Remember the nightmares you told me about?"

Hot Shot nodded.

"That is the reason why I am not angry at you, Hot Shot. You took control over your emotions, despite your fear. And, for saving my life for distracting Megatron when Wheeljack moved out of the way, I thank you for allowing me to gain the upper hand."

"Do you really suppose that Wheeljack told Megatron about me?" Hot Shot asked.

"I'm guessing that he didn't because Megatron had no clue that you were hidden. He sure acted like we knew where the Minicon was hidden, although I believe he was trying to hide it extremely well."

"Well, if Wheeljack didn't tell Megatron, then how did they know where we were?"

"That," said Optimus, "is a question I cannot answer until I figure it out myself. We will not discuss this anymore. You need to get some rest. You've been in stasis lock for two days."

Hot Shot nodded as Red Alert herded Optimus Prime and Jetfire out the room. He closed the door behind them and turned back to Hot Shot. "So," he said, "is the drug starting to wear off?"

Hot Shot nodded as Red Alert gave her another swing of the drug. "How is the machine doing?" Hot Shot asked.

"Normally I would not say, but the parts are still not here yet," Red Alert answered.

"So I'm guessing that they were delayed?"

"It's a possibility," Red Alert replied before he turned his head down a notch and a sad smile crossed his lips. "Looks like you'll be stuck as a femme for a little while longer, Hot Shot."

"Yeah, but don't worry, I can handle myself. I proved that when I used Jetfire's blaster, did I not?"

"Perhaps, but you still need to be careful. Unexpected things can happen... like the way you're looking at Optimus, for one."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I am not."

Hot Shot bit her bottom lip. _I can't be taking a liking to Optimus Prime! This is ridiculous! I see him as a father-figure, nothing more, and nothing less. Unless... I could be wrong. Maybe I do have feelings for him, but I doubt he will return them, he'll probably reject me._

* * *

"Look, I'm telling you, Optimus, you like Hot Shot! I can see it in your optics," Jetfire said as he and Optimus Prime walked side by side down the corridors of the Autobot Base.

"And I'm telling you, Jetfire, I don't want to discuss this matter any further," Optimus retorted, not wanting to hear anymore of the conversation. He didn't want to say that Jetfire was right about the Autobot Commander's feelings towards Hot Shot. Many times, he hated to admit it when Jetfire was always right, and it annoyed him greatly. If he did answer that he was right, then Jetfire would be bouncing all over the place and saying it out loud that he was in love with one of his soldiers.

Just how can a mech fall for mech-turned-femme? It just seemed so odd for some reason.

Growling when Jetfire said it again, Optimus whirled upon him as his golden optics flared in warning. "Listen, Jetfire, if you tell anyone about my feelings, then I swear, upon Primus's Spark, there would be Pit to pay. Got it?"

"Yes, sir, I got it," Jetfire answered as he saluted his commander.

Optimus sighed and rubbed his temples, glad that Jetfire would not press it any further.

* * *

**Spiritimus Prime: So they're finally starting to develop feelings for each other, but don't know if the other will love the other back. Well, we'll just have to wait and see on what happens. Stay tunned for the next chapter!**


	6. Caught Attention

**Spiritimus Prime: I'm sorry I hadn't updated this story for a little while, but I was having so much fun updating the others. But, I thank you for your patience and I couldn't have asked for better reviewers, otherwise you might've driven me up the wall. Don't worry, I'm going to update _Little Shotty_ soon, but not at the moment, it's bed time and I have to make this as quick as I possibly could. XD Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

**Caught Attention**

For the last couple of days, Hot Shot had been having fewer problems with her nightmares, and it felt good to know that things were getting back to normal… well… almost normal. But, as far as she could tell, it always did feel great to know that Wheeljack would probably not bother her again in her thoughts and dreams. Whether it was possible or not, she knew that time would be of the essence.

Of course, Optimus Prime was still having a little problem of his own. Jetfire had been bothering him for the last two days with the whole 'you love Hot Shot, and I know it!'. The more Jetfire kept the attitude up, the more annoyed Optimus became, and he even threatened to slap Jetfire across the face if he kept it up, but Jetfire knew that he would not harm him because violence was only the last resort weapon that Optimus would use against his foes.

"Come on, Optimus," said Jetfire. "Why don't you tell her how you feel?" He stood beside his commander and friend, his golden optics looking into Prime's own sun flared ones. He knew Optimus was stubborn when it came to admitting that he was wrong. The more stubborn Optimus became, the harsher he became on the battlefield.

Optimus shot Jetfire a glare, but sighed in defeat, knowing that Jetfire would keep on nagging at him until he said that he was right. He then looked away, for a moment, towards the monitor. He had been watching the screen for Primus who knew how long, but he then returned his attention back to Jetfire.

"I'm not sure whether or not Hot Shot would admit her feelings for me. Besides, she was a 'he', remember?"

Jetfire nodded. "Yeah, I remember perfectly what her gender once was, but if you admit your feelings for her now, then she could chose to remain as a femme just to make you happy," he said.

Optimus rolled his optics. "Just give it a rest, Jetfire. I do not want to talk about it anymore."

Jetfire lowered his head, knowing that Prime's stubbornness would win the argument, but he had not won the war. He scratched the side of his head as he pondered for a moment and then looked towards the exit of the Control Room, and then back at Optimus as an idea swam through his head. It was a good plan, but he knew that he would need Red Alert's help just to ensure that the whole plan would work out, and he also knew that the whole tradition was only six weeks away.

_I just hope that it works, _he thought to himself.

* * *

Hot Shot lifted her right leg and sent a kick into the air. Holding it there for a moment, she then lowered her leg and then did the same thing with her other leg. Placing that foot down and throwing a series of punches, she kept herself in complete focus, her blue optics looking straight ahead and determined.

Next to her, Scavenger lay on his side asleep as he snored away. It seemed like he had been eager to get Hot Shot's training underway again, but Hot Shot had no clue, nor did she understand why her mentor wanted her to continue, despite her 'deformity'.

Hot Shot threw two more punches and then did a neat back flip. She landed in a crouching position and then twisted herself around, her right leg lashing out as she pretended to trip an opponent. She stood back up and took a deep breath to cool her tiring systems down. Wiping her forehead and removing the beads of oil that had begun to drip on the sides of her cheeks, she looked towards Scavenger, who was still snoring away, as though he was in deep sleep.

Hot Shot sighed and she prepared to go again when Scavenger gave a snort and she stopped, looking towards her instructor. The old warrior's optics burned online and he looked towards the youngling. He didn't say anything for moment until he stretched and yawned like he always did whenever he woke up from a nap.

"Take a break, Hot Shot. I believe you've done enough for today. Come back the day after tomorrow and we'll continue like always," he said.

Hot Shot nodded her appreciation and left at once, eager to get a drink of Energon as quickly as possible before her systems overheated.

* * *

Hot Shot was a little surprised to find Smokescreen in the Rec. Room, along with the kids. Carlos was showing the large crane mech how to play rock, paper, scissors while Rad and Alexis were sitting at their table and having lunch. Hot Shot was quick to get her Energon and she sat down on a couch, crossing her legs in front of her and not caring if anyone noticed.

"Hey, Hot Shot!"

Hot Shot lifted her head towards her friend and saw Smokescreen waving towards her. "Come on and join us, Carlos wants to show you how to play rock, paper, scissors," he said, his bright red optics glowing with friendliness that she remembered since the day she first met him… when she was still her actual gender. Getting up and placing the Energon cube on the table next to the couch and she sat down between the two.

"So," she said. "How do you play?"

Carlos laughed and he and Smokescreen showed her how it was done. Which only took one go, even after explaining the hand shapes that she had to make if she was to win the game and showing her what beats what. Carlos then insisted that she have a go with Smokescreen, and she agreed, even though she knew that she couldn't beat him, but it was worth a try.

After several rounds of having mostly draws and some ending with one or the other winning, Hot Shot realised that she was evenly matched with Smokescreen. She smirked and Smokescreen grinned in delight.

"Guess this all comes down to this little round. Whoever wins will be crowned the 'Rock, Paper, Scissors Champion'," said Smokescreen.

"Bring it on, Smoky," said Hot Shot as she and Smokescreen got ready for the final round.

Leaning forward, the two locked optics and held their fists in front of the other. Then, in unison, they shook the fists at the same time and said, "Rock. Paper. Scissors. SHOOT!" They then opened their fists and made the gestures. Then, they looked down and Smokescreen gasped in shock.

The crane mech had brought out a rock, but Hot Shot had brought out the paper. He looked up at the yellow femme and snorted. "Hmph!" he growled. "That was beginner's luck."

Hot Shot laughed and she patted her friend on the shoulder. "Relax, Smoky, it was only a game, and a lame title to have. Maybe next time you'll get lucky," she said and stood up, looking towards the kids as they finished eating. She waved at them and then returned to her Energon. It felt good to beat Smokescreen at his own game. Oh she couldn't believe it, but it was too good to be true.

Finishing off her Energon, Hot Shot then left the room to go to the Control Room, but as she was about to leave, the Minicon alarm went off. Without further hesitation, she, Smokescreen, and the kids rushed off at once to go and meet up with the other Autobots.

* * *

"Red Alert, can you pinpoint the Minicon's coordinates?" Optimus asked as Hot Shot, Smokescreen, and the kids walked into the room. The other Autobots, Scavenger, Blurr, Sideswipe, and Jetfire, were also there as well. Optimus heard their approaching footsteps and he turned to face them. He nodded his greeting towards them, but quickly looked away before Hot Shot noticed that a slight tint of red had crossed his blue cheeks.

However, Red Alert and Jetfire had just noticed and they glanced at one another before shrugging and returning to business. Red Alert typed at the control panel and turned to face Optimus before saying, "The signal's a little weak, but I cannot seem to boost it enough. However, I have managed to install an even better detector, so the screen should be coming up any second now."

With his sentence said, the screen came up with an even better view than it previously had been before. Pleased with the results, Optimus asked where the location was and Rad instantly recognised the place.

"That's Mexico," he said.

"Mexico? I've never heard of that place before," said Smokescreen.

"I've heard of it," said Red Alert. "It's a place not too far from this location, but it is a very hot world that can reach amazing length of degrees."

"Well what are we waiting for?" said Hot Shot excitedly. "Let's go!" She then took off at a run towards the Space Bridge before Optimus could even stop her.

Optimus sighed and shook his head. "One day, Hot Shot. You will be the death of me." The other Autobots laughed as they too headed for the Space Bridge with the kids following in suite.

* * *

"Well, look on bright side," said Hot Shot as she glanced around with eagerness in her tone. "At least there are no trees for me to complain about."

Everyone shook their head as the team then split up into their usual pairings and departed to find the Minicon. Optimus still did not want Hot Shot to leave his side for fear that he could not protect her from the Decepticons, despite her protests of wanting to go on her own and that she can handle herself, but he would have none of that behaviour.

"Something doesn't feel right," said Jetfire to Optimus as he, Hot Shot, and the Autobot Commander trekked through a canyon that seemed to be too steep to climb, and far too high to even reveal the sun's rays that had previously beat down upon their metallic bodies.

Optimus stopped and looked upwards, as though he was trying to sense anything that may have disturbed the life forms of the planet. But he couldn't feel anything, nor could he sense even the smallest critters. Jetfire was right. Something about this canyon just didn't feel right.

It was far too quiet.

A blast shot above Jetfire's head and hit a boulder that had sat loosely against a pile of rocks and it came tumbling downwards with many other rocks following right behind it. The rock smashed onto the ground and in the canyon, blocking off any chance of escape.

"Get down!" Optimus called as he leapt forward and selflessly shielded Hot Shot from the tumbling boulders and the bounced harmlessly off his royal red armour.

Familiar laughter caught their audio receptors and they looked up, only to see Megatron standing above them with a grin of pleasure on his lips that revealed his fangs. Optimus's optics squinted in rage as he slowly got up, removing himself from protecting Hot Shot, but he knew that, in his Spark, that the Decepticon Tyrant had seen the mech-turned-femme.

"Megatron," he growled.

Hot Shot picked herself up off the ground, but she lightly blushed as Optimus diverted his attention towards his archenemy. She then looked around desperately for a place to hide, but there was none and she realised that she was in big trouble. But where was Wheeljack? Was he occupied with the others, or was he hiding? She wasn't sure, but, wherever he was, she knew that he was only lying in wait for her. One wrong move and she could be in serious trouble without anyone to help her at all.

Megatron's gaze fixed onto Prime's fierce golden optics, but then it turned towards Hot Shot, who was now looking up at him. Now that he had already seen her, Optimus knew that he could no longer protect her from the acute vision of the Decepticon Tyrant, but he could still physically shield her if he chose to.

"So, the words from Wheeljack were true. I knew he proved to be a loyal minion," said Megatron as he chuckled and licked his lips in delight. Oh yes, he couldn't wait to get his hands upon Hot Shot and use her for his own pleasure. But his blood red optics darted to Prime and Jetfire. Yes, those two would put up a really big fight just to protect one of their own. Prime was so foolishly loyal to his comrades that it wasn't even funny. "So, Prime. Shall we get started?" He took out the Star Saber and it cut through the hot air with ease.

Optimus Prime got into a fighting stance as he prepared himself, but Jetfire caught his attention, insisting that they combine. Optimus agreed and they did so, and it was just in time too, because Megatron leapt into the air and slashed the Star Saber towards his formidable opponent. Jet Optimus just barely had enough time to block the attack by placing both hands on the side of the blade, stopping it dead in its tracks.

Hot Shot watched at a safe distance from the battle between Megatron and Jet Optimus, but she knew that it would not last for very long because Megatron did give up, especially when he knew that he had lost, but her focus was diverted when she heard someone approaching her from behind.

Quick as lightning, Hot Shot got down on her hands and knees and lashed out with her right leg, catching her opponent completely off guard and she heard a satisfying thud. Getting back up in a standing position, she then whirled upon her enemy and her optics locked with Wheeljack's blue ones. They both halted for a second and Hot Shot leapt backwards by doing the same flip that she had done during her training with Scavenger.

After landing, she shot Wheeljack a glare and said, "So much for being the silent one, 'Jack."

Wheeljack took out his clubs and pointed them at Hot Shot. "I had no other choice, Megatron ordered me to report what I saw that night, you know that the Decepticon Code cannot be broken once you've sworn loyalty to Megatron," he said. His voice almost sounded apologetic, but Hot Shot was not fooled.

"Oh yeah? Well get this, Wheeljack, you're not fighting the Decepticon Code, you're fighting me now, a mech who has been turned into a femme at the hands of one of his trusted friends!" She then lunged towards Wheeljack with quick thinking and she wrapped her arms around Wheeljack's torso before picking him up and flipping him over her shoulders. Wheeljack quickly recovered and tried to grab her arms, but she saw it coming and she leapt backwards before lashing out with a kick from her left leg.

The kick connected with Wheeljack's right arm and he winced as he tried to recover from the sudden attack, but Hot Shot was like a quick blur of yellow lightning. She swiftly appeared behind him punched him as fast as she could in the back.

Wheeljack stumbled and then he turned to face her as she stood back to catch her breath. Wheeljack then got into a fighting stance and then created three more versions of himself.

Confused as Hot Shot took another step back, the four Wheeljacks surrounded her and one leapt out of nowhere, punching her right in the face and she fell onto her back and then on to her side.

Crying out at the sudden pain that swept throughout her body, Hot Shot tried to roll on to her back, but the pain kept her down.

The three Wheeljacks vanished and the real one appeared in the middle. "You may have gotten better in speed, Hot Shot, and you may have a new look and gender, but you're still the same as you'll ever be. You're still that somebody who would leave a friend behind when they ask you to not leave them," he said gruffly and shook his head. "It's a shame that you left me in the flames." He then took out his right club and pointed it at Hot Shot. "So long, Hot Shot."

Jet Optimus, who had just punched Megatron away with as much strength that he had managed summon, looked towards the battle between Hot Shot and Wheeljack and he saw the position Hot Shot was in. His red optics widened in horror and he growled deeply before he lashed out with a kick that connected with Megatron's torso.

Megatron collapsed on the ground on his skid-plate.

Jet Optimus took this moment to quickly charge towards Wheeljack and he threw back a fist and it connected with Wheeljack's right cheek. The young mech was sent flying and he collided with the rock that blocked the exit from the canyon. The force of the punch, and the collision of Wheeljack with the rock, caused the boulder to shatter into a dozen pieces and some of it collapsed on Wheeljack.

Seeing that they were free, Jet Optimus then turned to Hot Shot and picked her up in his strong arms. Embarrassed, Hot Shot held on tight as Jet Optimus ignited his thrusters and they took into the sky.

As they flew away, Megatron cursed angrily in Cybertronian, but they didn't pay any heed to him.

* * *

As Jet Optimus flew towards the set coordinates that Red Alert had sent him, Hot Shot sighed as she thought of what Wheeljack had said and done. She couldn't believe that he had told Megatron about her 'deformity', and now, she could no longer fight on the battlefield without getting spotted by Megatron. She was so busy concentrating on her thoughts that she didn't even feel Jet Optimus's grip tighten around her waist until the Autobot Commander looked down upon her.

"Hot Shot, are you alright?" he asked, getting causing Hot Shot to jump a little and Jet Optimus nearly dropped her in her fright. "I apologise for frightening you, but I will repeat myself. Are you alright?"

Hot Shot nodded and looked away, not saying a word.

Jet Optimus frowned and shook his head. He knew that he wasn't going to get anything from her until she felt she was ready to talk. He then realised that his hands her getting a little too close to her chest and his blue cheeks went as red as his previous form's armour. He was about to ask her something when his red optics caught sight of Red Alert, Sideswipe, Blurr, Scavenger, Smokescreen and the kids, waving to them.

Sighing, Optimus then flew straight down towards them and landed on the ground, releasing Hot Shot from his gentle hold. She removed herself from him and Red Alert told Optimus that Starscream had gotten the Minicon and that the Decepticons had vanished back to their base.

Jet Optimus split back into Optimus Prime and Jetfire and the Autobot Commander told the others what had happened. When he had finished, Blurr looked towards Hot Shot, who had her back turned on them. He could tell she was deep in thought, and he made no attempt to interrupt her until Optimus caught her attention.

"Hot Shot, we're getting ready to move out back to base."

Hot Shot turned to face her commander and nodded. "Alright," she said simply.

Optimus wondered what was on her mind, but he decided to ask her about it when she had rested from her fight with Wheeljack, but right now, their main concern was that the Decepticons had got another Minicon, and that was bringing them even closer towards their goal.

* * *

**Spiritimus Prime: Well, 'trouble' was always Hot Shot's middle name I suppose. XD So what's going to happen now, now that Hot Shot's 'deformity' has been told to Megatron by Wheeljack? Well, you'll find out in future chapters, but right now, I've got to snooze. Until then, fellow Hot ShotxOptimus Prime fans, g'night! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to R&R!**


	7. Points of Fury

**Spiritimus Prime: What's this? An update!? OMG!!!!!! I am so sorry that I never put up a chapter to this story, but I've finally got around to it. I know, the title of the chapter is completely lame, but I couldn't figure out anything else. Anyway, I must thank everyone for being so patient over the many months of not updating this.... 31 reviewed story? Geez guys! You must really like it that much if you're doing that. It must be more popular than the last two completed stories. Am I right? Oh well, never mind. Just enjoy some Red Alert bashing! LOL! The guy never saw this one coming, I swear! XD**

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

**Points of Fury**

"Look, I told you before, Red, I'm fine!" Hot Shot snapped, slapping Red Alert's hand away from her form.

Red Alert gave a look of shock at the annoyed femme, but then he tried again to give Hot Shot another injection of the mood swing keep away.

Hot Shot frowned and shoved Red Alert backwards angrily. In her anger, she stood on her feet and glared icy cold daggers at him, her stare sent chills down the normally confident and calm CMO, but he wasn't this time.

Hot Shot then turned her back on Red Alert and began to head for the door, but she was stopped when Red Alert grabbed her on the shoulder and threw her back onto the medical berth in a harsh manner. As his visored head leaned forward, Hot Shot could see that his lips had pulled back into an angry growl.

"You do know that it's disrespectful to grab a femme like that," said Hot Shot in a smug tone.

"Just because you have a gender change, Hot Shot," Red Alert hissed, "doesn't mean that I'll go easy on you. Never talk back to me, do you understand me? Now you are going to take this injection, whether you like it or not!" He took out the needle and used his opposite arm to hold the mech-turned-femme with powerful force.

But Hot Shot was never one to submit to such treatment. She'd finally had enough of these emotional controlling drugs and it was driving her up the wall to the point of wanting to hit something, and that included Red Alert. Just because she had been turned into a femme, it didn't mean that she had lost her cunning and strength.

Without warning, Hot Shot wrapped her legs around Red Alert's waist, startling the CMO with her tactic, and he was forced to remove his arm from her chest that was holding her down to remove it.

This just proved to be the worst mistake of his life.

Hot Shot allowed a smirk to cross her lips and she lifted her right knee that hit Red Alert in the crotch plate. She watched in satisfaction as he groaned in pain and bent down to clutch it, dropping the needle in the process. She then leapt off the medical berth and bolted through the door before Red Alert even knew she was there, triumph echoing in her laughter that rang throughout the Med-Bay.

"I'm… gonna… kill… her!" Red Alert spat in frustration, and for the first time in his life, he felt beaten.

* * *

As Hot Shot continued to run down the corridors as fast as her legs could carry her, she shot past a startled Jetfire, who had to lean against a wall as she ran like a bolt of lightning trying to escape an enclosed space. He could see the wildness in her blue optics that flamed as bright as any ordinary baby blue. Where did that fiery spirit suddenly come from?

When Hot Shot had disappeared around a corner on her right, Jetfire removed himself from the wall and lifted an optic ridge in puzzlement. He had never even seen her that wild before, and it seemed quite obvious that she had had an incident with Red Alert. Speaking of Red Alert, why wasn't he chasing her like a mad bull bent on wanting to kill her?

Confusion swept through the Vice Commander and he glanced in the direction of the Med-Bay where Hot Shot had come from. Knowing that Red Alert would never abandon a chase so quickly, he decided to investigate the scene to see what had happened for himself, although he did have a distinct feeling that Hot Shot had had something to do with the mysterious situation.

* * *

As Optimus Prime strolled towards the Med-Bay to check up on both Red Alert and Hot Shot, he was surprised to see a blur of red and yellow, and he felt something collide with his heavy body. He took a step back to shake off the slight discomfort from the impact that had caused him to become a little off balanced, and he blinked his golden optics when he heard a sudden thud from something light, but was still heavy enough to cause the sound.

"Oh man, talk about a sudden wakeup call, Optimus," someone said in a feminine voice.

Optimus took another step back when the voice spoke, startling him a little. When he glanced down, he saw an annoyed Hot Shot, whose blue optics was blinking in fury, looking up at him. He took his usual few steps forward and bent down beside her. "Are you alright, Hot Shot?" he asked.

"Does it look like I'm alright?" Hot Shot snapped, surprising Optimus from her angry tone.

"No, I suppose not," said Optimus, keeping his voice calm, and he offered a hand towards Hot Shot. "Do you need help with standing up?"

Hot Shot shrugged and took Optimus's hand, black meeting silver, and Optimus helped her up. Unfortunately, he pulled a little too hard, forgetting that Hot Shot was femininely built, and Hot Shot accidentally stumbled forward, falling into Optimus's arms that wrapped around her frame to offer her support, and he helped her back up.

Hot Shot felt a blush creep on her cheeks, but she quickly turned away to prevent Optimus from seeing it.

Optimus tilted his head to one side, but did not press the matter further.

The two stood there in silence for several minutes until Optimus broke it by speaking first, "Why were you running?" he asked.

Hot Shot's blush deceased and she glanced back at Optimus, the fury returning to her blue optics. "Red Alert was giving me another one of those… mood swing injections," she explained, earning a nod of encouragement from her superior to continue. "When he grabbed me and threw me onto the medical berth, I did the unthinkable and kicked him in the crotch plate."

Optimus's optics widened in surprise when she'd said the last sentence. Hot Shot had back answered Red Alert and kicked him in the most vulnerable place on every male in the Universe? His optics twinkled in amusement, but he said nothing to express it. "An interesting turn of event, Hot Shot," he said softly, but he frowned as his voice turned stern and firm. "But next time, do not do that again. I'm sure Red Alert is not in a very good mood after that stunt you just pulled."

Hot Shot sighed. "Whatever," she huffed and turned her back on Optimus, heading somewhere, but Optimus stopped her by placing a hand upon her shoulder, forcing her to turn back and look at him.

"What is with you, Hot Shot?" Optimus asked, "You've been a bit… odd lately, and I know that it has nothing to do with those mood swings that Red Alert keeps reporting to me about. Why won't you tell me?"

Hot Shot lowered her head and sighed. "I don't know, Optimus," she admitted. "It's either Wheeljack that I'm worried about, or it's Megatron."

_Is this why she's been avoiding me?_ "You let me handle, Megatron, Hot Shot," said Optimus as he removed his hand from Hot Shot's shoulders. "He is no problem for me, but I'm afraid you'll have to deal with Wheeljack on your own. I cannot fight and protect you all the time, you know?"

Hot Shot lifted her head again and shrugged. "You don't have to. I can handle myself."

And before Optimus Prime could say another word, Hot Shot walked around him, lightly brushing past him, and without glancing over her shoulder to even notice the faint blush crossing his blue cheeks, or the slight twitch of his silver face plate that hid his blue lips.

Optimus turned to watch Hot Shot walk away, a feeling of sadness crossing his line of thoughts. _Something else is on your mind, Hot Shot, and I know that neither Wheeljack nor Megatron have nothing to do with it. Whatever it is that is bothering you, I will do my best to help you overcome it._

* * *

When Jetfire walked into the Med-Bay, he was shocked to find Red Alert lying on the floor on his side, beside the medical berth, with his legs curled up against his chest. He almost looked like an embryo during development. He rushed forward and kneeled beside the medic, lightly placing a hand upon his shoulder and checking him over.

"I'm… alright… Jetfire," Red Alert groaned before Jetfire could ask if he was fine.

"What happened to you?" Jetfire asked, concern filling his normally cheerful voice.

"I was… trying to give Hot Shot the usual treatment for her… mood swings… but she rejected it," Red Alert explained as he felt the pain finally bypassing his crotch plate. He felt embarrassed that Jetfire was the one that had found him, but it would've been worse if Smokescreen or Optimus Prime had seen him like this. "So I tried to hold her down when she used her legs to wrap around my waist and forced me to let go of her, she then kicked me in the crotch plate after that and ran out."

Jetfire was amused. Red Alert had been beaten by Hot Shot for the first time. No one had ever done that to the CMO. And if they did, they would never live to see the next day or even their first sparkling. As funny as this may seem to the Vice Commander, he knew that he would regret it if he tried to blackmail Red Alert about what had happened and what he had seen before him. "I suppose you're going to hunt her down and give her that injection whether she likes it or not?" he asked, lifting an optic ridge.

Red Alert tried to stand up, but the pain in his crotch plate again and he bent over in pain. He looked at Jetfire, his visored face stern with coldness that sent chills down the Vice Commander's back. "Get me some painkillers or I'll have your aft mounted to a wall!" he spat.

Jetfire snicked. "Alright, you old rust bucket," he said as he stood up and headed over to a cabinet. As he searched for the said items, he could hear Red Alert grumbling underneath his breath about killing Hot Shot many times if he kept on bringing him back from the dead. _That would be interesting _if_ he really could do it,_ he thought.

When Jetfire found the painkillers, he handed them to Red Alert, who gulped them down without a hesitation. He obviously wanted to hide his embarrassment at being found on the floor holding onto his crotch plate in a pained state.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Jetfire asked when the painkillers had settled into Red Alert's systems.

Red Alert didn't answer at all. He kept his gaze firmly on the wall as if his mind had wondered into, as the humans say, la-la-land.

Jetfire could not help but sigh in frustration. He'd had enough of Red Alert's sudden silent treatment. He marched up to the medic and grabbed his shoulders before he shook him firmly, snapping him out of his stare. "If you don't snap out of the thought of getting beaten by Hot Shot, which is rare, I will personally smash your crotch plate so hard that you will never interface ever again! Do you slaggin' hear me!?" he screamed.

Red Alert blinked in surprise at Jetfire's words. Never had the high-ranked officer ever said anything bad or rude in his entire life and career! He was shocked by this whole ordeal, but the words were enough to prevent him from going into his thoughts like he normally did.

Jetfire removed his hands from Red Alert's shoulders and sighed again, but this time to calm himself down. "Now," he said, pretending to brush off some dust from his armour, "are you going to get back to working on the thing that was supposed to get me instead of Hot Shot?"

Red Alert blinked again. "How did you know of its purpose?" he asked.

"Call it a hunch," Jetfire replied simply, shrugging his impressive wings.

Red Alert nodded. "I will, don't worry," he said. "But first," he glanced at the door, "I have some unfinished business to take care of."

Jetfire's golden optics twinkled in mischief and he gave a wink before he gave Red Alert the thumbs up, glad that the whole thing was over. "Good luck with finding him, Reddy," he said. "But I think Hot Shot knows that you'll try and hunt him down. Hiding has become his thing now these days." He then turned and headed towards the door.

Red Alert rolled his optics and snorted. "Like you couldn't find him at all," he remarked quietly.

Jetfire stopped and turned back to face the CMO, his optics flaring in annoyance. "Was that a compliment or sarcasm?"

Red Alert smirked and shrugged. "A bit of both, but not in a good way," he answered.

Jetfire just groaned.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Hot Shot?" Carlos asked as he, Rad, and Alexis, with their Minicon partners, walked into the Command Centre. The whole Autobot crew (minus Jetfire, Red Alert, and Hot Shot) were there and were wondering the exact same thing. None of them had seen Hot Shot in a while, not even Optimus Prime himself.

"I'm guessing she went to go hide from the wrath of Red Alert," said Scavenger as he leaned against a wall at the back of the room. "You know how stubborn Red can be when he wants to try and do something to someone for back answering and kicking him in the crotch plate. I don't blame Hot Shot for all of that, and she's been upset lately for unknown reasons." He glanced over at Optimus, who was in deep thought. "Not even Optimus knows."

"Poor guy – I mean girl – she's probably worried about what had happened during that mission," said Rad.

"Perhaps you're right, but I don't think half of the mission had anything to do with her depression," said Optimus, getting everyone's attention. "I believe she's miserable because she's in this state and wishes to have some time to herself. And for that, I will give her space. She will come and talk when she feels ready."

"What makes you think so, Optimus?" Alexis asked.

Optimus sighed softly. "I'm not sure, Alexis. Whatever Hot Shot's problem is, she may want to figure it out herself," he said. "Being a different gender makes things hard for her to cope with because Megatron saw her and Wheeljack already knows. Now that she may become their target, we're going to have to restrict her to some things."

"Restrict me!?"

Everyone lifted their heads and whirled in the direction of the voice. All they could do was gasp when they saw Hot Shot standing in the middle of the doorway with her hands balled into fists and her optics flashing with anger and fury.

"You can't restrict me from my freedom, Optimus Prime!" she cried. "I am still the same mech that can still kick Decepticon skid plate! You'd be surprised at how I could still remove Red Alert from me when he tried to inject me with that stuff!"

Optimus could see all the emotions swirling through those fiery blue optics. He could see determination, unhappiness, and fury. Those emotions completely overwhelmed him, but he knew that what he was doing was for the safety of his best warrior. "Please, Hot Shot," he said gently. "I'm only doing this for your own benefit. Do you want Megatron or Wheeljack to capture you for either of their agenda and use you against us while hurting you as well?"

Hot Shot chewed her bottom lip in anger. She could not believe that Optimus Prime would do such a thing to her. Her optics continued to blaze in a dangerous manner. "Just because I have a different gender," she spat, "doesn't mean that I'm not completely defenceless! You said so yourself, I have to handle Wheeljack on my own, Megatron is your problem, not mine!"

Optimus's anger swelled within his Spark to the point of bursting. Without warning, he snapped at Hot Shot without even thinking twice. "I am doing this for your own good, Hot Shot!" he bellowed. "I do not like it as much as you do, but how else am I going to protect you from them!?"

Everyone stood there in stunned silence. No one had ever heard Optimus yell like this. Such moments were extremely rare, and he normally kept his temper firmly under control.

Hot Shot took a step back in fear. For the first time in her life, she was completely afraid of the only Autobot she ever looked up to.

Optimus soon realised his mistake too late. He took a step forward, his hands raised to try and not frighten the mech-turned-femme. "Hot Shot… I… I shouldn't have…"

With her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth in an upset manner, Hot Shot turned and ran out the room, not even looking over her shoulder to see if anyone followed her.

Optimus lowered his arms and his face plate touched his chin. "I'm so sorry, Hot Shot," he whispered.

Sideswipe tried to go after Hot Shot, but both Blurr and Scavenger stopped him from even moving. "But she needs me!" he cried in a frustrated tone.

Scavenger shook his head. "Leave her be, Sideswipe," he said firmly, but not unkindly. "She needs to be left alone.

Sideswipe resisted his fight against the two anti-social Autobots. He really wished that he could make his friend feel better, but what Optimus had said… had frightened him to the point of running away as well, but, for some reason, he had remained where he was without lifting a foot.

Optimus took a deep breath. He knew that he had not only frightened Hot Shot, but he had lost all the respect of his proudest warrior ever. Knowing that he had to apologise for everything he had said to upset, he decided that he would go and see her when everything had settled down. For now, all he could do was wait and see if Hot Shot would ever forgive him.

* * *

**Spiritimus Prime: Um... definately not the smartest move there, Optimus. Don't worry, the silent treatment doesn't last forever you know? (sniggers) Again, I must apologise for the delay of this chapter, but you know how life is these days, but I guess you see my point... I hope. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please remember to R&R! Until the next chapter, continue to stay tuned! :D**


	8. Asking for Forgiveness

**Spiritimus Prime: Ack! Stupid website had a login glitch! Stupid aftheads in the wake! This is what happens when it drives me insane to never get a chance to put up the next chapter to my evergrowing story! (pouts) I'm not happy, nope, nope, nope!**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

**Asking for Forgiveness**

For several days, everything was all quiet in the base. No one spoke a word, and no one ever saw Hot Shot or Optimus Prime. It seemed like the two were avoiding each other as much as they possibly could. Whenever something came up or a Minicon would activate, the two would come in at the same time and then, when they noticed each other, one of them would quickly leave the room, mainly Hot Shot, who always avoided Optimus's optics as if she was afraid to look at him at all.

On the seventh day of the brutal silence between the two, Jetfire had finally had enough. He stamped a metallic foot, startling those that were in the room with him. "I'm sick of the silent treatment!" he spat. "This has gone on long enough!"

Blurr, the kids, and Scavenger exchanged worried glances at each other. They had understood Hot Shot's reason for avoiding Optimus, and the same with the Commander of the Autobots.

Hot Shot's intentions were because Optimus had restricted her from going out into battle, while Optimus's reason for avoidance was his way of expressing that he was upset about Hot Shot's reactions towards his confinement.

"What should we do about this?" Blurr asked after a few minutes of silence. "We can't just go and ask them to apologise to each other. They would never stay in the room long enough to say a word. More importantly, Hot Shot has become impossible to find now. We know that she doesn't stay inside during the night that's for sure."

"What do you mean she doesn't stay inside during the night?" Jetfire asked as he lifted an optic ridge in confusion and suspicion.

"What I mean is," said Blurr, "that Hot Shot does not sleep in her quarters anymore. I've seen her sneak out in the middle of the night and go outside on her own accord. It's like as if the whole base has become a total Pit to her."

Jetfire sighed softly. He knew that Hot Shot had been miserable since the whole accident had begun and had had a rough time adjusting to her new form. Things had gone wrong, nothing was the same, and Megatron seemed likely determined to have her at any cost, making things harder for Optimus than they already were. As far as anyone could tell, Optimus too was going through hell, and waiting for Hot Shot's forgiveness was taking its toll upon him like never before. Everyone knew that he had become lower than the dirt beneath their feet, and it was terribly unsettling to them.

"We've got to do something," said Jetfire suddenly. "They can't just keep on ignoring each other and they're both proud warriors like us!"

"These things take time, Jetfire," Scavenger spoke up as he leaned against a wall. "I haven't seen Hot Shot since that argument, and I'm sure both she and Optimus need some downtime to themselves to work things out."

Rad shook his head. "It's been a whole week and none of them have come to speaking terms," he said, bowing his head. "It's like as if they have forgotten what we're really fighting for."

Blurr, Scavenger, and Jetfire exchanged worried glances at each other. They too had felt the tension in the air, and none of them could ever think of a way for the two warriors to ever speak to each other. Was Hot Shot ever going to look past her misery and forgive Optimus for his restrictions?

* * *

Hot Shot sighed deeply as she brought her knees close to her chest, rocking back and forth. She seemed to be in perfect condition, but the dullness in her baby blue optics proved her misery to the whole word. As the humans say, your eyes are windows to your very soul, and some had a gift to look into them and judge you extremely carefully.

Of course, Hot Shot felt completely hollow, as if her whole soul had been sucked out the moment Optimus had taken away her liberty with the very word: 'restricted'. It made her tremble at the thought and she wanted nothing more than to hit something as hard as she could until everything in her path was destroyed. But she knew that this was for her own safety at all costs, and she knew that Optimus was determined to protect her at any cost, no matter how severe the conditions were.

Somehow, she felt that she could not forgive Optimus at all, but again, she knew that she could not stay mad at him forever. It was for her own good, but her pride as a warrior made things impossible for her to come to terms with.

She checked the time on her internal clock and realised that it was only in the middle of the afternoon. She had not had any Energon since she'd woken up at midnight and found herself sleeping outside. She was afraid to face Optimus again, and, more importantly, she was afraid of something else, but she was unsure why. Deep down, she'd begun to feel different on a few occasions whenever she was in the base and that fear had sent her flying outside to think and have time to herself to figure things out on her own.

Slightly, Hot Shot lifted her head, her dull optics twinkling in the afternoon sun. She felt tired and groggy, but she couldn't go back inside and face Optimus. What would he think of her now?

Not caring anymore, she stood up, but staggered a little. Ever since she'd started coming outside to sleep instead of in her quarters, she'd found little time in quenching her thirst for Energon and had lost some energy from the lack of it.

She supported herself on a tree that could hold her weight, and she made her way back towards the base. But, as she moved towards the entrance, her legs gave way beneath her and she collapsed on her front side, her oxygen tanks heaving tiredly before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Optimus Prime had been mainly quiet since the argument with Hot Shot. He knew that she was going to forgive him sooner than later, but he soon came to realise that they were both avoiding each other. Mainly, he wanted to think his words over carefully if he wanted to apologise to her, but, for some reason, he could not find the courage to speak at all and avoided everyone if they ever asked if he had apologised to Hot Shot yet.

None of this made any sense to Optimus at all. Yes, Jetfire had confirmed that he was in love, but his feelings were still swimming around in his head, still trying to understand if it was ever possible.

Eventually, Optimus had decided that he needed some fresh air, so he left his office and headed off in the direction of base's entrance that led outside.

While he made his way towards the door, he could feel a prickling sensation at the back of his mind, and he knew that it had something to do with Hot Shot and his unusual feelings that nagged him completely until his CPU ached like hell.

Shaking his head slightly to clear himself of the discomfort in it, Optimus made it to the base's door that led inside and he opened it, feeling the warm rays brushing against his royal red armour until he stopped abruptly the moment his golden optics settled onto the form that was lying face first in the icy floor of the cave.

"Hot Shot!" the Autobot Leader cried out as he rushed forward, he kneeled down beside Hot Shot and he carefully turned her over onto her back, his right forearm supporting her head and he used his silver fingers to carefully caress her cheek.

Hot Shot turned her optics online and when she saw a blurred red, blue, and silver figure with golden optics, she could not help but emit a groan, her Energon levels dropping further to dangerous levels. "Optimus," she breathed weakly.

Optimus could see she was in desperate need of Energon and some medical attention. "Hang on, Hot Shot," he whispered gently. "Just don't talk or you will only make yourself weaker than you already are."

Hot Shot trembled a little. "I… I'm… sorry," she whispered before she turned her optics offline and tilted her head to the side as she drifted into unconsciousness again, her head burying into Optimus's hand, as if she was sleeping peacefully.

Optimus chewed his bottom lip in worry beneath his mask and gently picked Hot Shot up, cradling her in his arms like he would do with a sparkling. He caressed her cheek softly and began to make his way back inside, the door closing behind him.

* * *

Red Alert lifts his head from his work as soon as Optimus came running into the Med-Bay. He was about to ask what had happened, and what the emergency was when he saw Hot Shot cradled in Optimus's arms, he quickly closed his mouth and motioned Optimus to place Hot Shot on a medical table while he went to go and get the required tools to help her.

Out of the corner of his visored face, Red Alert could see how gentle Optimus was being with Hot Shot. He knew the Autobot Commander had feelings for her, but seemed unsure about them at the current moment and it even confused him to breaking point. As interesting as this seemed with his leader worrying about the mech-turned-femme, he had to ensure that she got some Energon into that weakened system of hers.

"This is all my fault," Optimus Prime whispered, getting Red Alert's attention.

Red Alert turned and saw Optimus standing beside Hot Shot and lifting a hand, lightly caressing her cheek as if she would break like glass. He shook his head as he picked up a bottle and an Energon feeder before he returned to Hot Shot's side.

Optimus took a step back as Red Alert added the bottle to the feeder and injected it into Hot Shot's arm as gently as he could, but it still didn't stop her from wincing in reaction to the sting. He then attached the feeder to a stand that kept the Energon feeder dripping into Hot Shot's systems, energising her back to full capacity.

Red Alert then washed his hand and turned back to Optimus, who was now staring with a blank stare, as if his thoughts were in another world where things were just as clueless as the real world. He was probably reflecting on Hot Shot's reaction to the restrictions and how everything had happened during the week where they had not seen each other optic to optic. None of this made any sense to the CMO, but he had a theory that those two may have… unusual spots for each other without the other knowing.

"It isn't your fault, Optimus," said Red Alert, causing his commander to turn and look at him with his golden optics that were dull from lack of recharge. "You were only trying to protect her from Megatron and Wheeljack."

Optimus shook his head tiredly. "But I only ended up making things worse for her," he said. "Instead of making her happy, I brought misery upon her Spark. What am I going to do?"

Red Alert walked over to his old friend and gently squeezed his shoulder with his hand. "Don't be so hard on yourself, old friend," he said soothingly. "Blaming yourself will not make things better for Hot Shot." He then removed his hand and returned his attention to Hot Shot.

"Hot Shot will need a couple of days rest," he said. "She has not had much Energon since the day you and her argued with each other. I can also tell that her armour and shape is not in very good condition, and that was from losing some weight during the time she was not consuming Energon. As far as I can tell, she'll be like this for a while. It may take a week for her to recover."

Optimus emitted a gentle sigh as his golden optics settled onto Hot Shot. He took a step forward until he was standing beside the medical berth. Without thinking, he carefully took Hot Shot's left hand in his right one and squeezed it tightly.

He wasn't expecting a reaction, but he got a squeeze in return. Unfortunately, it was a weak one.

Unthinkably again, Optimus leaned forward, his left hand lifting to touch Hot Shot's head and he used a finger to caress it as gently as he could. His face plate retracted to reveal his soft blue lips and he kissed her on the goggles. His face plate quickly covered his lips again and he removed his hand from Hot Shot's before he bowed his head slightly. "Forgive me, Hot Shot," he whispered. "You had every right to be angry with me. You did not need to apologise for acting like that."

Red Alert didn't move or say anything during the whole process. He had kept extremely quiet, letting Optimus have his moments with Hot Shot alone. When he began to feel uncomfortable, he felt his armour tremble a little, but he still didn't say anything until he heard Optimus's words.

The moment Optimus took a step back and he suddenly became aware that he was being watched. His optics flickered over to Red Alert and he suddenly felt his cheeks heat up until they turned as red as his armour. "I'm sorry about that, Red Alert," he apologised.

Red Alert waved it off. "No need to say anything like that," he said as he shook his head. He then frowned slightly. "Just when are you going to tell her your feelings?"

Optimus sighed. Not this question again. First Jetfire began to pull his strings about his unusual feelings for Hot Shot, and now Red Alert? It seemed like he was never going to get any peace pending he had said something to satisfy their curiosity. "I don't know," he finally said. "When the time is right I guess."

"And you will know when," chuckled Red Alert as he noticed the change of expression in Optimus's optics. "Go and get some rest, sir. You're tired, and I'm sure neither of you haven't slept since that argument."

Optimus turned his head down a notch as his optics looked into Red Alert's visored face. After a few minutes, he finally lifted his head and nodded slightly. "You're right, Red Alert," he said, "I should get some rest. It has been a while, and I've had a lot of things on my mind lately."

Red Alert smirked. "I can see that." He nodded towards Optimus's optics that had black rings around them.

The Autobot Commander rolled his optics and chuckled faintly. "Good night, Red Alert," he said softly and he walked out the room, leaving Red Alert to shake his head in amusement at his retreating back.

* * *

As Optimus arrived in his quarters for the night, he switched off the lights and slowly walked towards his recharge berth, his golden optics flickering on an off as he felt his Energon reserves reach their low point and telling him that he needed to sleep. His body shivered slightly, and he felt his armour rattle against his joints, sending quiet echoes bouncing off the walls that became music to his audio receptors.

Tired. He was just so tired. He had not slept a wink since the argument he'd had with Hot Shot. He had been busy musing over the thoughts of her reactions and the facial expression that had been written all over her delicate face and he'd even found himself doing his own paperwork while avoiding Hot Shot at any cost.

But it was not of his satisfaction. It was more likely so that he could give herself time to calm down. But that had been the mistake of lifetime, and he deeply regretted for ever suggesting that he prevent Hot Shot from fighting. It had pained him to do such a thing, but the only thing that had been on his mind was to protect Hot Shot and prevent Megatron and Wheeljack from touching her.

Somehow, Hot Shot had secretly become a thing to protect at any cost, and he felt fury raging at the back of his mind the moment he saw Hot Shot fight against Wheeljack and the way how the mech had stared at her. The feeling just made him feel sick to the Spark and to his consuming tanks (stomach).

Optimus walked over towards his recharge berth and tiredly lay down on it, but his optics did not switch offline as quickly as he had wanted to do so. He stared up at the ceiling, his head spinning with all those racing thoughts and he felt his Sparkbeat increase a hundred miles an hour, faster than his CPU could work at.

He did not understand his feelings towards Hot Shot, but he did know that he was in love with her. It just didn't make any sense towards him at all. The more he thought about it, the worse his head and Spark ached.

Sighing, he turned on his right side until he was facing the wall, and his back was turned towards the door of his sleeping quarters. His face plate retracted and he gently touched his lips with his fingers. Of course, he could not figure out those confusing feelings that raged on at the back of his mind like a firestorm sweeping through a forest, destroying everything in its path until it consumed anything it touched.

Once again, his Spark raced.

He tried to slow it down by taking in a deep breath, filling his oxygen tanks with air that was sucked through his mouth and through his nose. He repeated the rhythm several more times before the racing Spark had settled down. He could've sworn that it had gone faster than Hot Shot's wheels. He chuckled at the thought and shook his head faintly before he laid his head back onto the pillow of his recharge berth.

Slowly, he felt his optics go offline, and, before he even knew it, he found himself drifting off into another world of troubled and good dreams that swam through his mind quicker than he realised. Perhaps it was much quicker than his pulsing Spark.

* * *

**Spiritimus Prime: Ooooo! Oppy kissed Shotty! (dances happily) Yeah, I wasn't very pleased with te results of this. I'm wondering when I can start getting these two together and I'm a little impatient to get things rolling! (sighs) Doesn't it drive you insane just to make things interesting? (snarls) anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I have to write up the next chapter for Fires of the Past, but I think my muse is dying on me... (pouts) Anyway, I hope enjoyed this chapter, and please remember to R&R! I need for caffine for this thing! XD**


	9. Her Undeniable Feelings

**Spiritimus Prime: Yay! Updates again! I'm very happy with myself! For once, I don't suffer from any doubts in my ability with this ever growing popular story. I have nothing else to say here, so I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. XD Nothing much happens in this, just a conversation between Red Alert and Hot Shot. I think I may have given a hint what might happen during the course of the story. I don't know. Just a little warning, Hot Shot curses in this chapter, and it will increase as the story progresses. This is just a heads up. It's also another reason why I rated this M in the first place. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

**Her Undeniable Feelings**

When Hot Shot finally came around, she realised that she was lying on a recharge berth with an Energon feeder lodged in her arm. Judging from the area that surrounded with the clean walls and the gentle beeping of a Spark monitor that gave off its presence, she could guess that she was in the Med-Bay. She rolled her optics and chewed her bottom lip in frustration.

The beeping of the Spark monitor was annoying her and she wanted nothing more than to rip the needle right out of her systems so that she could sleep in peace. But she knew that Red Alert would not be pleased with her attempt, so she didn't bother to do anything.

She placed a small hand upon her forehead, feeling for anything that may have come out of nowhere such as beads of Energon. But, when she felt nothing, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least she was still online, but the main question was: how on Cybertron did she even get here in this room? Surely Red Alert could answer that simple question without hesitating once.

The doors to the Med-Bay hissed lightly and she turned her head towards the incomer, but she wasn't surprised when she saw Red Alert. She sighed and returned her gaze back onto the ceiling that she had awakened to, although she was aware that the medic bot was looking at her body language carefully trying to see if there was any sign of her wanting to talk or say anything at all.

"Are you going to look at me all day, or am I going to have to rearrange your optic sensors?" Hot Shot growled in an annoyed tone of voice, catching Red Alert completely off guard by her tone.

He turned his head down a notch as his tone came out calm and quiet, "I apologise, Hot Shot. I just came to see how you were. You gave us quite a fright when I found what had happened to your systems."

"What happened to me? How long was I out?" Hot Shot asked as she sat up slowly, but Red Alert was already by her side and had pushed her back down until she was lying on her back once more.

"To answer the first question, Hot Shot," he said, "you exhausted your energy reserves to the point of dangerous levels where you could no longer keep yourself online. From what I had learned from your saviour, you had collapsed outside the base's entrance in the cave to save the rest of your energy that your body was trying so desperately to gather. Obviously you had been starving yourself."

Hot Shot's jaw dropped faintly and she chewed her bottom lip again, which had become a small habit whenever she went into a pondering state. She even failed to notice that her lip was beginning to bleed, causing a small trail of Energon to drip down to her chin without even feeling it.

"I don't believe it," she breathed, "I just don't believe what I almost did to myself."

"It could've been worse, Hot Shot," said Red Alert soothingly as he gently placed a hand on Hot Shot's shoulder before he gave it a light squeeze, "You were lucky that Optimus decided to come out and take a breather."

"Optimus was the one who brought me here?" Hot Shot asked in surprise.

Red Alert nodded faintly and he watched as Hot Shot placed both of her hands on her head, covering up her entire face so that he wouldn't be able to see her facial expressions, but her body language showed perfectly well on her sadness and annoyance.

"Aren't you going to answer my other question?"

He smirked when he realised that a few minutes had passed since he'd trailed off to his thoughts. He turned back to Hot Shot and he saw that she was staring at him with an emotionless look in her optics, as if the entire thing on her near starvation had been blamed on him. Nevertheless, he wasn't stupid to fall for that. He knew that she was trying to her hide her guilt for putting Optimus through so much in over a week.

"Sorry, Hot Shot," he apologised again. "To answer your second question, you were out for at least about two weeks."

However, Red Alert never expected to get a reaction that nearly caused him to jump out of his circuits… "What do you mean 'two weeks'?!" Hot Shot screeched, almost similar to that of a cockatoo's alarming cries of an approaching predator. "I really don't believe it now!"

Red Alert watched as Hot Shot tried to readjust her optics in getting them back into their sockets. He shook his head. He had known that Hot Shot would be shocked about the whole ordeal, but her reaction was completely unexpected. He also had been awaiting Hot Shot's sitting up, but that did not happen.

"Red Alert, what was all that screaming about?"

Both Hot Shot and Red Alert turned their heads and, when they saw the speaker, they felt their jaws slightly tug, determined to drop at the sight of him. But, their respect kicked in and they faintly nodded towards each other as they watched him walk in the Med-Bay and then they diverted their attention back onto him.

"I will not repeat myself again, Red Alert," Optimus said a little sternly, his golden optics avoiding direct contact with Hot Shot's baby blue ones.

"Actually," said Hot Shot, "that was me. I freaked out when Red Alert told me the time period about how long I was out for. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, sir." She lowered her head in submission, doing her best to show how sorry she was, but it was more likely set towards her behaviour that had started that argument and had led to non-speaking terms.

Optimus's firm gaze drifted over to Hot Shot as she spoke and he watched as she lowered her head to show her sorrow. The past two weeks had been nothing but trouble for the Autobots. Megatron had been demanding that Optimus hand Hot Shot over to him, or even getting ideal threats from Wheeljack if he didn't see Hot Shot, he would do more than just hunt her down.

Slowly, his golden optics softened and he bowed his head. "No, Hot Shot," he said quietly, "I'm the one who should be apologising, not you. You did not deserve such a torment being thrust upon you like that when I was only concerned about your safety instead of your thoughts and feelings on the matter."

"And I shouldn't have overreacted," said Hot Shot sadly, "You were only trying to protect me from Megatron."

_Well I'm glad that's all sorted out…_ Red Alert thought to himself.

Optimus smiled faintly and he approached Hot Shot carefully before he embraced her in his large arms. He felt her shudder under the direct contact, but he ignored it, believing that she was slightly surprised by his warm touch to her unusual body. "Let's try not to get on the arguing side again, shall we?" he asked.

Hot Shot could only manage a simple nod, due to the embrace that Optimus was giving her. She did feel a little bit uncomfortable by being this close to her commander, but she quickly brushed it aside and emitted a deep sigh of exhaustion. She still felt weak and tired from her near starvation, but she did feel better from the gentle hug he was giving her.

When Optimus finally let go of her, Hot Shot nearly fell to the side so her commander quickly grabbed her with his silver hands, holding her steady to prevent her from falling over again. "Steady there, Hot Shot," he chuckled, "You're still a little weak, and I cannot have you falling on me like that."

"Sorry," Hot Shot apologised tiredly.

"I think she's had enough excitement for one day, sir," said Red Alert as he took a step forward, his visored optics flashing his concern as he looked from the exhausted Hot Shot, to the uncertain Optimus Prime. Both he and Jetfire were well aware of their secretive feelings towards each other, but had kept their thoughts to themselves until the two were ready to say what was on their minds, which was probably a long way off anyway.

Optimus took a step back and nodded towards the CMO. He understood that Hot Shot was still in a delicate condition, and it would be wise to let things take their time in healing. He was still feeling a little uneasy about kissing Hot Shot's lips, and it had in fact scared him to the point of wanting to avoid Hot Shot for as long as possible until he had sorted out his feelings towards her.

"Optimus, you're spacing out, and that look is starting to scare the living daylights out of me."

Optimus jumped at the sound of someone disturbing his thoughts and he realised that it was Hot Shot who had spoken. He calmed down instantly and waved her off.

"Forgive me for that, Hot Shot," he said as a small smile formed beneath his mask. "I must get back to work, I'm sure a Minicon is bound to appear soon enough." He then tilted his head down a notch in farewell and departed without another word, leaving Red Alert to attend to Hot Shot.

Hot Shot sighed as she watched Optimus leave without a glance over his shoulder. "What's his problem?" she asked Red Alert, "He seems a bit jumpy at the moment."

The blue and silver bot chuckled at Hot Shot's question. "He's jumpy because he's been worried about you," he explained as he approached Hot Shot and checked the needle that was wedged in her arm. "He nearly flipped when he saw you lying on the ground outside the base. He obviously blamed himself for your condition and went into a fit of depression. But Scavenger managed to sort him out by giving him a very interesting lecture."

"Shit!" Hot Shot swore, "I missed out on the whole thing!"

Red Alert shook his head in amusement. "Now, now," he teased, "we can't have you swearing in human language. Obviously you've spent more time with the kids, haven't you?"

"No I haven't!" Hot Shot snapped, "I've been doing research on their language."

Red Alert blinked in surprise. "That's not like you to do some research, Hot Shot."

Hot Shot snickered. "Well, what else could I do while I sat around starving myself?" she asked as she lifted an optic ridge. "While most of you slept, I decided to do something to entertain myself in order to rid the guilt of what I said to Optimus."

He chewed his bottom lip faintly until he noticed the Energon dripping down her chin. He sighed before he went to go and get a cloth and he wiped the faint trail off gently. "You really didn't need to do any of that," he said softly. "You could've at least seen me and we would've talked about it without having any interruptions. I could've helped you overcome that problem."

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel like talking to anyone," Hot Shot grumbled, "I needed to sought out my thoughts on Optimus."

"So you really do like him as more than just a father-figure?" Red Alert set the cloth into a sink so that he could wash it later on and he turned his calm gaze back onto the ex-mech.

Hot Shot gulped nervously and she twitched her fingers out of reflex. She was jumped when Red Alert placed a hand beneath her neck, making it a sheer sign that he wanted her to sit up slowly. So, she obeyed without a second's hesitation. She felt Red Alert shift his hand to her back until she was sitting up fully, and she felt a slight shiver coming down her cerebral column, but she ignored it to the best of her abilities.

Red Alert gently placed a hand on Hot Shot's shoulders, his fingers feeling around for any signs of tension when he felt the slight shudder. "Take it easy, Hot Shot," he said softly, "I just need to check for any signs visual signs that you're functioning properly."

"Sorry, your hand is just cold to my frame," Hot Shot replied as a big grin forced its way to her lips.

"That's what everyone says every time I do this," Red Alert chuckled, "Even Optimus would shudder whenever I run a diagnostic on his systems. After all, my fingers a more sensitive than an average Transformer's touch sensors, so I'm able to detect the slightest problem on the surface of someone's armour."

"Wow, can you really do that?"

"Indeed I can." His thumb then formed a circular motion in the middle of Hot Shot's left shoulder blade, which caused her to gasp in surprise. "I also learnt this technique from a human website that specialises in massaging a certain part of the body to release tension and stress. Humans sure are quite useful, despite their primitive technology."

"It feels nice actually."

"Good, I hope to keep it that way. You are my second test subject on this."

"Who was your first?" Hot Shot asked as she lifted an optic ridge again in puzzlement.

"Why Optimus was of course," Red Alert replied as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "After his incident with Scavenger, the kids suggested that I use a special human ability that will help ease off the tension that he was beginning to develop in his systems.

"From what Alexis had read on us, she realised that we were not much different compared to the human species. She knew that we could touch and feel, as well as smell and hear in a similar way that they could. So, she told me a certain website that teaches a person how to massage the right spot to make it more relaxing. Obviously it worked extremely well for Optimus, and I thought it might work for you. It seems like I'm right anyway."

Hot Shot was impressed by all of this information. "She really is right, you know?" she said. "Humans really do seem to share similarities compared to us."

"And that's something I'm willing to keep on learning."

After the massage, Red Alert then checked Hot Shot's Spark monitor and he saw that the pulsing rate had returned to its normal rate. Pleased with his success, he then looked back at her and smiled, "Well, at least your stress levels have died down."

"Thanks again, Red Alert," said Hot Shot as a small smile cross her lips. "Do you know when I'll be able to get out of here? I really would like to see Optimus."

"I'm afraid you're still not ready to leave yet, Hot Shot," he sighed. "You're still a bit weak, and I think that you'll have a couple more days until I can be sure that you're ready without hurting yourself. I don't trust you on your own after an argument."

"Oh man!" she hissed. "Can't I at least walk around a bit? Please, Red?"

Again, Red Alert shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's the only way to ensure that you don't cause more harm to yourself than you already have inflicted. A couple more days of rest would never hurt to have, because I need to be sure that you can look after yourself. Obviously that stunt you just pulled with your life nearly scared the slag out of me, and Optimus."

Hot Shot crossed her arms across her chest, her bottom lip stuck out in a human way of expressing her annoyance. "I just wish you would hurry up with that machine," she growled, "Being a femme is causing nothing but bad luck."

"I wish I could make it happen in an instant, Hot Shot," he replied. "But as the humans say, I'm no magician. Obviously there have been some setbacks with the delivery of the parts that I need. They've been caught up in a Decepticon attack and only half of the required parts were destroyed in the process. Because of that, it will take an extra month to get the parts again and deliver them properly without having any more interruptions."

"That's worse than staying like this for an entire solar cycle!" Hot Shot whined.

"Believe me, it could be forever if the Decepticons keep up with those attacks of theirs. This is the third time this month."

Hot Shot leaned forward a bit and rubbed her temples before she dug her head into her legs as she brought them close to her chest. "I don't understand what's happening to me, Red," she said quietly, "I feel like I'm not acting like myself, and yet, I feel like I am me."

"Care to elaborate?"

She lifted her head and looked straight at him in the optics. She couldn't read his facial expression, but she could tell that he was worried about her wellbeing. She had no idea how she could explain what she was feeling, but she could not deny that she was… completely out of control with her own emotions.

"It's hard to say," she began, "I just… don't know how to explain it. You said so yourself that I may be developing feelings for Optimus, but if I return to normal, would I still be able to be with him?"

"So you're worried about when things get back to normal, if Optimus does return the feelings, you won't be able to feel the exact same thing as you previously did as a femme?"

"I guess you could put it that way." She then turned her head away to look at a wall so that she was not making optic contact with her friend. She felt silly that he had instantly guessed of where she was getting to, but she needed to get it off her chest. "Go on and laugh if you want."

But there was no sound coming from the medical Autobot. Instead, all she heard was nothing but silence. It was a silence that welcomed both of them to an unspeakable world where nothing could be exchanged except for body language. This puzzled Hot Shot to a certain degree. Why wasn't Red Alert laughing at her like she had expected him to?

Confused, she turned her head to look at him, and, to her surprise, she could see that he was just looking at her and had his head lowered for a brief moment, a sign that he was thinking about something and not letting her see on what it was that was going on in that logical mind of his.

"Aren't you going to say anything or do something?" she asked, snapping him out of his trance.

He shook his head. "No," he smiled. "To tell you the truth, Hot Shot, there is no such thing as 'impossible' to us at all. You can still love Optimus however way you want to. If you do manage to sort out your feelings with him, then you will both decide on whether or not you wish to stay as a femme…

"Being a femme is nothing to be concerned about. You know just as well as I do that we do not have genders. Mechs can be with mechs, or femmes can be with femmes. Humans may consider this strange, but they also know that there are some thing about us that makes us different compared to them. Need I remind you as to why we're so different?"

Hot Shot jumped and waved both of her hands in front of herself. "No!" she cried, "I think you don't need to go into the detail on that! I know all about that stuff. I'm just concerned on how Optimus would want to take that step. Would he appreciate a mech and mech relationship, or a femme and mech relationship?"

"Only one way to find out, Hot Shot," said Red Alert, "and that's for you to tell him how you feel about him."

"I don't know if the moment is right just yet."

"Then take it slow. One step at a time and you know that. You do have plenty of time, you know."

"Yeah," Hot Shot mumbled, "I guess you're right on one thing."

"When have I ever been wrong?"

"A couple of times I think." She then smirked, hoping that she had cornered her friend.

"Oh? Name one time I did get something wrong?"

Hot Shot winced, realising that Red Alert had not fallen for her bluff. "Damnit, Red Alert!" she hissed, "I so wish you hadn't backed me into a slaggin' corner! I am so going to get you for that one day!"

Red Alert chuckled and he rubbed Hot Shot's head gently. "Nice try, Hot Shot," he said. "Now, get some sleep or I'll be forced to sedate you, am I clear on that?"

She mockingly saluted him. "Yes, sir!" she teased.

He lifted an optic ridge, showing a slight hint that he was not impressed by the mock salute. He then shrugged his shoulders, letting those words slide off his back for the time being until he sorted everything out. Red Alert gave one final scan of Hot Shot's frame with his tooled arm, receiving the same issue that she was only 70% back to full energy.

Satisfied with the results, Red Alert then checked the Energon feeder to ensure that it was completely secure. Once that was done, he checked the time on his internal clock and realised that it was 9:00pm.

_At least I'm done for the day,_ he thought._ I just hope that Hot Shot will be able to keep a hold of the peace… If she doesn't do anything foolish that is worse than the thought of Megatron getting his hands on her._

"Good night, Red," Hot Shot said, once again snapping Red Alert out of his thoughts.

"See you in the morning, Hot Shot," he replied as he gently stroked Hot Shot's goggles, earning another shudder from her. "Oh my, are we a little sensitive in that area?"

"Shut up, Red!" Hot Shot snapped.

_An interesting thing that Optimus could use when he convinces his feelings for Hot Shot,_ Red Alert thought with a smirk. _If he ever does come right out and say it before the parts get here._

Chuckling at the thought, Red Alert then approached the door that led outside from the Med-Bay and into the corridors, and he turned to look back at Hot Shot. He was surprised to see her deeply in recharge already. He shrugged once again and shook his head in amusement before he switched off the light and left, the door sliding closed behind him.

The only sounds that could be heard from within the Med-Bay was Hot Shot's gentle breathing and the slight beeping of the Spark monitor.

* * *

**Spiritimus Prime: Okay, now that the drama has come to an end, the real action is about to start up. :D I'm not telling you what will happen, but you're about to find out in the next chapter. Until then, please R&R! I love you guys! (huggles and bounces off)**


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